Mission Approved could prove to be the horse to beat in the Arlington Million at Arlington Park
The Grade 1 Arlington Million on 13 August is largely seen as a rematch between the first two finishers of the Man O’ War Stakes, the Irish Cape Blanco and Arlington based Gio Ponti, but many believe the key to win the Arlington Million will be to run down
Grade 1 Manhattan Handicap' winner, Mission Approved, which many found out the hard way that it is a difficult task to do.
The 7-year-old Naipaul Chatterpaul trained and owned horse has drawn the 8 post for the Arlington Million, and the veteran horse finished fourth in the Man O’ War Stakes held at Belmont Park on 11 June, 2011.
It was a good run by Mission Approved under jockey J Espinoza, as the pair assumed the leaders position in the beginning of the race, but eventually gave way to Gio Ponti who consequently got out finished by an in-form horse, Cape Blanco.
Prior to the Man O’ War Stakes, the son of With Approval out of Fortunate Find by Fortunate Prospect destroyed his competition in the Grade 1 Manhattan Handicap.
The seven-year-old tried to make amends in the Manhattan Handicap after a defeat at the hands of Gio Ponti in the 2009 Man O’ War Stakes.
Mission Approved finished second in the 2009 Man O’ War Stakes, but in his first start since the Grade 1 defeat, Mission Approved took on Gio Ponti in the Manhattan Handicap to prove that he can outlast the two time reigning champion on any given day.
It was a 1 ¼ miles event at Belmont Park turf, as Mission Approved under jockey J Espinoza took on another good horse Bim Bam.
However, Mission Approved was out of sight on 6 June as he spurted past his rivals to defeat the lot by a considerable margin, covering the distance in a fast 2 minutes and 6.32 seconds.
Mission Approved has been sent at 6 to 1 odds, the second favourite after Gio Ponti to win the race, despite foreign threat looming over the American foals, Mission Approved have a bit of flukiness about him in it might be his race.
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