by K. T. Donovan

Named for the animated equine in the movie Spirit, Stallion of the Cimarron, Spirit One (Fr) made no attempt to display a heroic attitude to the Friday morning crowd at Arlington Park as he put in a final gallop before the Arlington Million Stakes (G1) on Saturday.

“He is a lazy horse in the morning,” Ludovic Rovisse, assistant and nephew to trainer Phillipe Demercastel, said of the four-year-old Anabaa Blue colt. “But when he gets in the gate, he will change, and he says, ‘Ok, now it’s my job’, and he is a different horse.”

Indeed, the multiple French group stakes winner has faced tough company in his homeland, including Duke of Marmalade, whom he led until late in the stretch of the Prix Ganay-Grand Prix du 40th Anniversaire Air Mauritius (Fr-G1) before being overtaken in the final three-sixteenths to finish fourth. He then came back to finish second to Crossharbour, again passed in the shadow of the wire, in the La Coupe (Fr-G3) in his previous start.

“We have found the 1 ½ miles is too long for him, and the mile of the Poule d’Essai des Poulains (French Two Thousand Guineas) (Fr-G1) was too short, so this mile and a quarter should be perfect for him,” Rossive said.

In France, he has gone to the front, but on the firm turf at Arlington—which encourages a faster pace—he might have to track behind horses. His connections say they have no worries about the change in tactics.

“When we tried to train him to hold back so he could go behind horses, he would get sleepy he is so relaxed,” Rossive said. “He could go behind the pace if he has to. That is why we thought this race would be good for him.

“In France, the stretch is very long and he would be passed in the last furlong when they all come at him. We make the race for everyone else. Here, the stretch is shorter, so maybe he can stay in front longer.”

Spirit One has finished off the board only five times in 17 starts, winning four times and earning $505,618.

K. T. Donovan is a Lexington-based Thoroughbred Times contributing writer