Share
Cindy's Horse Racing Website Index
Latest Articles

 Paco Lopez 4000 wins
 Woodbine Turf Showcase
 Woodward Stakes Day
 Pennsylvania Derby Day
 Mohawk Million Night


Jockey Javier Castellano celebrates after City of Light wins the Dirt Mile

World Championships
Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile Results

Date: 11/03/2018

Saturday Results Summary:   F&M Sprint -  Turf Sprint -  Dirt Mile -  F&M Turf -  Sprint -  Mile -  Distaff -  Turf -  Classic
Friday Results Summary: Juvenile Turf Sprint -  Juvenile Fillies Turf -  Juvenile Fillies -  Juvenile Turf -  Juvenile  
Entries   -   Saturday Works   -   Sunday Works   -   Monday Works   -   Tuesday Works   -   Wednesday Works   -   Thursday Works

The $1 million Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) featured a field of 9 older horses going 1 mile around 2 turns of the main track. San Diego Handicap (G2) and Pat O'Brien (G2) winner Catalina Cruiser was the 9-10 favorite. In to challenge him included 5-2 City of Light, winner of the Oaklawn Handicap (G2) but second in the Forego (G1) and 11-2 Firenze Fire, winner of the Gallant Bob (G1).

City of Light leads down the stretch in the Dirt Mile

Jockey Javier Castellano sent City of Light to lead exiting the chute through fractions of 22.64, 45.16, and 1:09.03 over the fast main track while pressed by Firenze Fire and stalked by Catalina Cruiser. Turning for home, City of Light extended his lead to 3 lengths through 7/8 in 1:20.97, and cruised the rest of the way to win by 2 3/4 lengths over late-running 10-1 Seeking the Soul in 1:33.83. It was 2 1/2 lengths back to 14-1 Bravazo third, while Catalina Cruiser faded to finish 6th.

City of Light wins the Dirt Mile
Pgm  Horse              Jockey            Win   Place  Show
  1   City of Light      Castellano        7.20   4.20  3.20
  6   Seeking the Soul   Hernandez                7.00  4.60
  8   Bravazo            Contreras                      5.80

Winning Time:  1:33.83

$1 Exacta 1-6                         22.20  
$1 Trifecta 1-6-8                    244.30
$1 Superfecta 1-6-8-70               916.60
Results chart

Left: City of Light in the winner's circle. Winning trainer Mike McCarthy, celebrating his first Breeders' Cup victory said, "I can't tell you how long I have been waiting for this. I always thought this would be a mismatch. I have been looking forward to this for quite a long time. I thought he would love this racetrack. Backing up to one turn where his best races were, I thought he would run away and hide and he did just that."

Right: The trophy presentation for the Dirt Mile with jockey Javier Castellano, presenter Toby Keith, and owners William K. Warren and his wife Suzanne. William Warren said, "He will race until the middle of February. I think our next race is in the Cigar Mile at Aqueduct. That's what we're aiming for next. But in July Suzanne and I went to Lexington, and Andrew as well, but we visited nine farms who had expressed an interest in breeding City of Light. We made a deal with Lane's End and that's where he'll stand." He confirmed that the Pegasus World Cup is possible for his final career start.

Left: City of Light walks over before the race. Winning jockey Javier Castellano said, "I had a good trip. I let him break out of the gate a little bit with speed. He set the pace, and it worked out great for me today. I didn’t want to bury myself on the inside. It gave me the opportunity to get the best part. He’s a very special horse the way he did it today."

Right: City of Light heads back to the barn after the race. McCarthy added, "It feels great. I’ve been part of a lot of these with Todd Pletcher, so it’s great to have one of my own. It means a lot to me. I wish my father in law was here to see it because we spent a lot of nights talking about this horse. We loved the post, Javier rode a great race and it was no secret that we were going to run away from there. At the three-eighths, I knew it was over."

Left: Second place finisher Seeking the Soul just past the finish line. Trainer Dallas Stewart said, "I thought he ran great and I’m really proud of the horse. He needed a little more ground, that’s all. I’m very happy for Mike McCarthy and his team. We just got outrun today and that’s horse racing. We’ll point toward the Pegasus from here."

Right: Third place finisher Bravazo returns after the race. Jockey Luis Contreras said, "I got a perfect trip. At the 3/8 pole, I tapped him on the shoulder to get him going. He likes to run on the outside so I kept in the clear. I thought I might have a chance (at the winner) but he just got away from us."


Sixth place finisher and beaten favorite Catalina Cruiser walks over before the race. Jockey Drayden Van Dyke said, "He ran just fine, but he just didn’t run his A race. I think that’s about all I can say."

Saturday Results Summary:   F&M Sprint -  Turf Sprint -  Dirt Mile -  F&M Turf -  Sprint -  Mile -  Distaff -  Turf -  Classic
Friday Results Summary: Juvenile Turf Sprint -  Juvenile Fillies Turf -  Juvenile Fillies -  Juvenile Turf -  Juvenile  
Entries   -   Saturday Works   -   Sunday Works   -   Monday Works   -   Tuesday Works   -   Wednesday Works   -   Thursday Works

Breeders' Cup quick links:

Back to Horse-Races.Net main page

Search Horse-Races.Net:


©1994-2024,  Cindy Pierson Dulay   Privacy Policy   About Us   Search   Site Map   Add a Link   Advertise   Suggest to a friend   RSS Feed   Follow on Twitter