Contact: Graham Ross (847) 385-7500 ext. 7319
Gross@arlingtonpark.com

SILVANO GIVES EUROPE ANOTHER WIN IN THE ARLINGTON MILLION

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. (August 18, 2001) -- After being allowed to settle early in Arlington Million XIX, Stiftung Gestut Fahrhof's Silvano challenged for command in upper stretch, drew clear before the eighth pole and withstood a late challenge to capture the showcase event of Chicago's Thoroughbred racing season by three lengths Saturday before a crowd of 22,176.

"The pace wasn't too quick and when he picked it up and we went three lengths clear, everything was perfect," said an ecstatic Andreas Suborics, Silvano's Austrian-born jockey, "but 2000 meters (approximately the Million's mile and a quarter trip) is his best distance."

Silvano returned mutuels of $14.60, $6.80 and $4.60, while covering the 10 furlongs in 2:02.64 over a grass course rendered yielding by midday rains.

Allen E. Paulson Living Trust's Hap finished second, paying $5.00 and $4.00, while Brazilian-bred Redattore, owned by Luiz A. Taunay, returned $6.40 in the third position. Trudy McCaffery, John Toffan & Robert Sangster's Bienamado, who went to the post as Arlington Million favorite for the second year in a row, was never a serious threat and finished a well-beaten seventh.

The win by the globetrotting German-bred was the first for a European-based contestant in the Arlington Million since the French-bred Dear Doctor won the Arlington's classic Grade I event in 1992. Silvano's victory was also the first by a horse bred in Germany, and a watershed moment for Thoroughbred breeding in that nation.

Now positioned as the third race in the Emirates World Series Racing Championship, the Arlington Million has suddenly become an international race of an even larger dimension.

As the premier event of the summer season at Arlington Park, the Million has been a bastion of international racing since its inception 20 years ago, when American hero John Henry defeated The Bart by a nose in the inaugural running.

International racing could not have had a more fitting poster boy for its reemergence throughout the globe in 2001 than Silvano.

An intercontinental traveler of the finest order, Silvano has been earning frequent flyer miles since March. He began that month as a lion with a five and a half-length tally in the Singapore Cup at Kranji Racecourse March 3. After traveling to Dubai, the 5-year-old son of Lomitas was a good third, beaten only two lengths, when asked to go a mile and a half in the Grade II Dubai Sheema Classice at Nad Al Sheba on Dubai World Cup Day March 24.

The well-balanced, well-traveled bay then returned to the Far East to win the Group II Queen Elizabeth II Cup in Hong Kong at Sha Tin April 22. He was then fifth in his most recent start before Saturday, beaten three lengths in the Grade I Singapore Airlines International Cup May 12.

Saturday's Arlington Million triumph was his first attempt at any race in the United States, and leaves him with a perfect record on the North American continent. The win, Silvano's third in five starts this year and seventh in 15 starts overall was worth $600,000 and boosted his bankroll to $2,162,530.

Additional quotes:

Andreas Wohler (trained the winner):
"What an unbelievable day. This is such a prestigious race to win. Everybody is trying hard to win this race, and we did it. We were a little worried when it started to rain, but it stopped raining and the ground wasn't too bad. He likes it a bit soft, not too soft. (Breeders' Cup turf) is a bit too far for him and we don't want to run him on the dirt (for the 1¼-mile classic). This win today was even better than in Hong Kong and he beat very good horses in impressive style."

Simon Stokes (racing manager for the winner):
"He just keeps on impressing us and going on and on and on."

Jerry Bailey (Hap, 2nd):
"I was right where I wanted to be, just following that wall of horse. The winner just happened to be directly in front of me. My horse ran super. He didn't get through the soft ground as well as he does on firm, and the winner just happened to love it. The 10 furlongs really wasn't any problem. He really has a fire finish which was negated today somewhat by the soft ground."

Alex Solis (Reddatore, 3rd):
"We were not really in any trouble. He ran hard. He heard that other horse coming up behind him and he tried to give me another gear but he lost his footing a little bit."

Kent Desormeaux (Caitano, 4th):
"He tried hard. I had a pleasurable ride. I had heard that he could be a difficult horse but he was very professional today. The field really quickened at the three-eighths pole and he snuck in right behind them until they hit one too many gears. He didn't tire and that makes him a true stayer."

Gary Stevens (White Heart, 5th):
(Concerning the soft going) "He just said 'uh uh' when his feet began to get down in the soft going. He didn't run but he didn't hurt himself, either."

Trainer Neil Drysdale:
"I walked the course this morning and I was afraid that might happen. I was going to say something but I didn't want you to get discouraged. We'll just take him back to California. He likes that ground out there."

Patrick Smullen (Muakaad, 6th):
"He broke a little bit slow, but we were quickly able to get into a good position where I was comfortable. To be honest, at the end of the race the ground just came up a little bit too soft for him."

Chris McCarron (Bienamado, 7th):
"I didn't get away all that sharp. He didn't accelerate the way he usually does. When I called on him at the half mile and he didn't respond, it was a negative factor and I was losing confidence as he went around the turn. I got to the middle of the turn and I knew it wasn't his day. (The 10 post) didn't help but it didn't take away any of my options. If the ground was good to firm, he would have been a little closer to the lead going by the stands (the first time)."

Robbie Davis (Senure, 8th):
"Great trip. The horse struggled a bit over the course. It's kind of a bog. I made a little bit of a move turning for home and that was it. It's nothing like this horse's capabilities. He didn't fire over the surface."

Corey Nakatani (Takarian, 9th):
"He wasn't handling the course. It was way too soft for him. I put him in the right spot and I was sitting next to the winner. I was just trying to get his feet under him. We were in a pretty decent spot, but he just didn't have it today on this course. He's 10 times better than he showed today. Any horse that has a turn of foot is just galloping and plodding along today. It's difficult for a horse with a turn of foot like this horse to run on a track that's soft like this."

Todd Kabel (Quiet Resolve, 10th):
"I had a pretty good trip. I got banged around a bit on the first turn. He got a little ranker than I wanted him to be. I was hoping to be laying fourth or fifth. On a firm course, you'd have seen a different horse today."

Michael Fenton (Compton Bolter, 11th):
"I could have done with a faster pace. They didn't quicken it up until the end of the back-straight."

Robby Albarado (Make No Mistake, 12th):
"We didn't have any trouble. I just could just never get him covered up the way where he really wants to be."

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