Despite drawing the outside stall in gate 11, Amerman Racing LLC's Oscar Performance (Kitten's Joy) was made the 3-1 morning-line favorite for Saturday's running of America's original seven-figure test, the GI Arlington Million in suburban Chicago. Victorious in last year's GI Secretariat S., the homebred can join Marlin (1997-98) and Beach Patrol (2016-2017) as horses to win the 3-year-old feature and the Million in consecutive years. Awad won the 1993 Secretariat and added the Million in 1995. Oscar Performance will be having just his second run of the season, having won Belmont's GIII Poker S. in course-record time of 1:31.23.
Chad Brown will saddle three in the Million as he looks to go back-to-back in the race. Robert Bruce (Chi) (Fast Company {Ire}) is lowest of the trio on the morning line at 9-2 and will try to atone for a trouble sixth at the hooves of the upset-minded Spring Quality (Quality Road, gate two, 8-1) in the GI Woodford Reserve Manhattan S. Shadwell's Almanaar (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) has two wins from five starts in this country, including a victory over Beach Patrol in the GI Gulfstream Park Turf H. this past February and is a 5-1 chance on the morning line. Money Multiplier (Lookin At Lucky) is pegged as a 6-1 chance as he shortens up a bit in trip off a second-place effort to loose-on-the-lead stablemate Funtastic (More Than Ready) in the 11-furlong GI United Nations S. at Monmouth June 30. The Brown trio are drawn 10, three and eight, respectively.
Deauville (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}, 6-1), third in the last two runnings of the Million, will have Ryan Moore from gate nine, while connections have opted to run Divisidero (Kitten's Joy) in the Million instead of Saturday's one-mile GI Fourstardave H. at Saratoga. Divisidero will be piloted by Jevian Toledo from gate four.
Full fields for the Million, the GI Beverly D. S. and the GI Secretariat S. will appear in Thursday's TDN.
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