Argentine Champion Subsidiary earned his first win in the United States with a 1 1/2-length victory on August 17 in the $248,500 Philip H. Iselin Stakes (G3) at Monmouth Park.
Owned by Wathnan Racing and trained by Richard Mandella, the Southern Californian cut the distance to 1 1/16 miles in a pair of 1 1/4-mile races at Santa Anita Park.
Driven by Mike Smith on Saturday, the Subsanador started from fourth at the start and then made a quick move on the far corner to catch and pass the leaders Amazing And Everso naughty . Fortify’s 5-year-old son was raised in the Southern Hemisphere (Twisted humor ) has increased from 3 1/2 lengths in the rear to 2 lengths in the front.
Smith’s aggressive move paid off, although Subsanador had to hang on to win by 15 1/4 lengths from Il Miracolo, who carried 124 pounds to the winner’s 118 pounds. Anti-gravity in third place. The final time for the 1 1/16th stage on the dirt track was considered fast despite a shower after the race, 1:42.63.
Smith said the plan was to take the lead, but Subsanador didn’t break away well.
“He immediately went to Plan B. He slipped out of the gate and kept slipping. It took him a while to get his balance back,” Smith said. “As he went down, he grabbed me, and I said to myself, ‘Oh, the light bulb just went on.’ At that point, I knew, with the two horses hooked up in front of me, that when I got into the second turn, I was going to shoot him.
“He ran a mile and a quarter … so I knew he was healthy. I was able to be a little brave with him because of that. I might have moved him a little early but I didn’t want to give (Il Miracolo) the opportunity to get on the reins and then let my horse hang. He’s been training really hard.”
As part of the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Dozen Award Series, Iselin awarded $15,000 to the winner, $7,500 to the runner-up and $3,750 to the third-place finisher to apply toward entry fees for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) race on November 2 at Del Mar.
After finishing fourth on his U.S. debut in the San Antonia Stakes (G2) on December 26 at Santa Anita, Subsanador has won nearly every race in the Santa Anita Handicap (G1), as New Gate hit him on the head
He was then sold and moved from trainer John Sadler to Mandella after the Santa Anita Handicap. In his first race for Mandella, he ran a tiring fourth in the 1 1/4-mile Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes (G2). A multiple Group 1 winner over a mile in Argentina, the move to the 1 1/16-mile on Saturday seemed appropriate.
“I’m liking him more and more. We’re starting to see some form from Argentina,” Mandella said. “We’ll take him home and figure out what to do next. There’s a race at Santa Anita on September 28 (California Crown [G1]) that we will consider.”
Subsanador, a Breeders’ Cup nominee, improved his record to eight wins from 16 starts, with earnings of $403,124. He paid $5 to win.
Video: Philip H. Iselin S. (G3)
