If the morning line holds true and fans make Sandpit the favorite Sunday, he will join the great John Henry and become the second horse in Arlington Million history to be a three-time favorite.
John Henry was part of an entry that was the 1.10-1 favorite when he won the 1981 inaugural, the 7-5 favorite when he lost by a neck to Tolomeo in 1983 and the 1.10-1 favorite when he revisited the winner’s circle in 1984.
John Henry is a hard act to follow and Sandpit has come up a little short. He was second to Awad at odds of 7-5 in 1995 and third behind Mecke and Awad, again at odds of 7-5, last year.
Since moving to this country from his native Brazil as a 5-year-old in 1994, Sandpit has been keeping steady company with jockey Corey Nakatani. But with Nakatani suspended for 30 days, he will have a new rider, Chris McCarron. This will be McCarron’s 11th Million.
Sandpit will be making another transition as well, going back to the grass where he has spent most of his career after running three of his last four races on dirt.
He ran second in the Santa Anita Handicap and was third in both the Dubai World Cup and the Hollywood Gold Cup, his last start on June 29. Sandwiched between the race in Dubai and the Hollywood Gold Cup was a sixth-place finish in the Hollywood Turf Handicap.
Awad’s evaluation: Based on current events, his Arlington history (two wins, a place and a show in four appearances) and Pat Day’s presence in the saddle, it’s conceivable Awad could wind up the favorite–even though he has visited the winner’s circle twice in 21 outings since the 1995 Million.
His last race on Aug. 9 was a two-length triumph in the Grade I Sword Dancer Invitational Handicap in Saratoga record time of 2:23 1/5 for 1 1/2 miles on the turf course.
But that performance must be taken with a grain of salt. With virtually no rain for most of the first half of the 36-day meeting, Saratoga’s turf courses were like concrete. Through the first 17 days six course records were shattered; the record that Awad broke was set less than 24 hours earlier.
