Bodog Beat

Spirit One captured the gold at the Arlington Million. (AP Images)

Spirit One was the unexpected winner of Saturday's Gr. 1 Arlington Million in Illinois, upsetting a talented field of seven.

Among the favorites going into the race was Archipenko, who had won three of his last four starts, including the Summer Miles Stakes at Ascot in July and the Queen Elizabeth II Cup in Hong Kong in April. Also expected to contend for the win were Einstein, a multiple Gr. 1 winner on turf, and British-bred Mount Nelson, hero of the Coral-Eclipse Stakes. But it was France-based 4-year-old Spirit One who led from gate to wire, clear of the drama that unfolded behind him.

At the final turn, Archipenko and Mount Nelson became locked in a positional battle. Mount Nelson, under Johnny Murtagh, stalked pacesetter Spirit One while Kevin Shea and Archipenko ran along the rail. Archipenko, boxed in, had no room to maneuver. Not until the deep stretch did Mount Nelson finally tire, allowing Archipenko to get clear, but Spirit One was already out of reach.

Spirit One won by three-quarters of a length, with Archipenko in second and Mount Nelson in third. Einstein finished fifth, having stumbled out of the gate.

After the race, Shea contended that Murtagh's tactics had cost his horse the race: "[Archipenko] should've won, no doubt about it… I begged [Murtagh] to let me go on. He wouldn't let me through."

The Arlington Million was Spirit One and jockey Ioritz Mendizabal's first U.S. race. And though both will be returning to France, winning the Arlington Million means that the duo may return to race again on U.S. soil in the Breeders' Cup Turf in October.

Winning owner Kamel Chehboub said, "I will certainly think about running him in America again, in a program adapted to his needs. But first, he will go home to recover from this very hard race."

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