Arlington Heights, Illinois
Mondialiste continued his strong performances in North America with a driving victory in the Arlington Million Stakes Saturday afternoon.
The Irish-bred was last seen in the U.S. running second in the 2015 Breeders' Cup Mile, and now battled his way to the winner's circle at Arlington Park.
Jockey Daniel Tudhope worked his way through traffic and put the son of Galileo in a clear path turning for home to take the lead for good in the final jumps.
Mondialiste took the Arlington Million by an official neck over Kasaqui, and Deauville finished another neck back third. Race favorite, World Approval gave way late and finished seventh.
The opening fractions were not very quick in this event, :25 & :49, which made for a bunched field down the stretch, including many horses near the wire.
Mondialiste ended up running the 1 1/4 mile turf race in an even final time of 2:01 and returned a price of $10.80 to win.
With the victory Mondialiste earned a trip to the Breeders' Cup, set to take place in November at Santa Anita, and trainer David O'Meara said they plan on taking their winner to California to compete.