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Although
the twentieth running of the Arlington Million made up of only nine
runners, but it certainly didn't lack quality at all. This selected
field comprised of four Group 1 winners namely Beat Hollow, Sarafan,
Forbidden Apple and Paolini and the remaining five is
nonetheless Group or black type stakes winner.
With no pacemaker in the race, it was left
to the quickest horse off the jump to dictate the pace and it turned
out to be Arthur I. Appleton's seven-years-old Forbidden Apple
followed closely by longshot Mystery Giver and two top betting
favourites Beat Hollow and Sarafan.
The field raced slowly in the first 1600m
and reached the top of the home straight in time of 1min 38.77 secs.
Suddenly the contest turned into a mad dash home with the front-runners
holding a small advantage while making the first run home. Forbidden
Apple giving all he had under a hard drive, Beat Hollow
was gaining in the middle of the track under a strong Jerry Bailey
ride and Sarafan was fighting courageously just outside of
him. Unfortunately, Paolini and Falcon Flight were
both denied of higher placing when trapped behind the front-running
group.
It required the aid of the photo
to separate the first five runners, and the verdict went to the
blue-blooded Juddmonte-bred Sadlers' Wells horse Beat Hollow
followed closely by Sarafan, Forbidden Apple and the fast
closing English invader Ulundi.
Known for its renowned reputation as the
first million dollars thoroughbred race in the world, the Arlington
Million has long been one of the most important stops for horsemen
in the Northern Hemisphere.
First run in 1981, racing fans already
were treated with the epic duel of two lovely racehorses, the great
US Turf Champion John Henry and the dual Grade 1 winner from
England, The Bart. John Henry went on to become the
highest money earner in the US racing history and captured the Arlington
Million for the second time in 1984 while beating the eventual Breeders'
Cup Mile winner and US Turf Champion, Royal Heroine.
In the early 1990's, Hong Kong was represented
for the very first time in an international Group 1 race, local
champion River Verdon gave his best shot but still came up
short in this historic event.
Arlington Million was included into
the then Emirates World Series in year 2000 and was won by the top-class
English import Chester House. And in the 2001 renewal, the German
champion Silvano easily taken the first place money over
two very nice horses in Hap and Redattore (Brz) by
three and six lengths respectively.
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TV Broadcast
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Hong Kong
racing fans will be able to watch this fifth leg of the
World Series Racing Championship on ATV (Home Channel)
and Cable TV (Channel 18) at the following times:
ATV (Home Channel) - Sunday 18 August, 12:50
p.m. - 1:05 p.m. (Nicam, taped delay broadcast)
Cable TV (Channel 18) - Sunday 18 August, 10:30
p.m. - 10:45 p.m. (Nicam, taped delay broadcast)
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