City of Light, a 4-year-old son of Quality Road, took control early in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and won in commanding fashion by 2 3/4 lengths to give trainer Michael McCarthy his first win in the World Championships.
City of Light, a 4-year-old son of Quality Road, took control early in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and won in commanding fashion by 2 3/4 lengths to give trainer Michael McCarthy his first win in the World Championships.
Bred in Kentucky by Ann Marie Farm, the colt was a $710,000 purchase at the 2015 Keeneland September yearling sale by Walnut Green, on behalf of William Warren Jr., his wife Suzanne, and their sons John-Kelly and Andrew. City of Light has now won three Grade 1 stakes and earned more than $1.66 million.
“I can’t tell you how long I’ve been waiting for this,” said McCarthy, a former assistant for Todd Pletcher. “I thought he would love this racetrack. Backing up to one turn, where his best races were, I thought he would run away and [he] did just that.”
City of Light seized the lead just before the first quarter-mile after a break from the inside post. He took the field through brisk fractions of :22.64, :45.16, and 1:09.03. He was stalked by Firenze Fire and favorite Catalina Cruiser, who tracked wide throughout. At the top the stretch, City of Light under Javier Castellano found another gear and drew away easily.—Eric Mitchell