Mile Division

GLADIATORUS
Owner: Godolphin Racing, LLC
Trainer: Saeed bin Suroor
Pedigree: B.c.,4, by Silic – Gmaasha, by Kris

Positives: Gladiatorus is an American-bred son of Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Silic who should relish the sharp, left handed, short-stretch, top-of-the-ground conditions he’ll encounter at Santa Anita. Dominant in Italy as a 2-year-old but unraced at three, he appeared to be nothing short of the world’s best turf miler in the spring in Dubai as an older 4-year-old, reeling off three consecutive impressive victories capped by a brilliant performance on Dubai World Cup night in the 9F Dubai Duty Free S.-G1. A take-no-prisoners front-runner, Gladiatorus demands the lead and, when he’s right, crushes anything and everything that even thinks about challenging him early. A winner of 10 of 16 career starts, he usually gets his way, but following three highly disappointing and non-competitive efforts in England and France during the summer, the Godolphin colt regained his swagger with a convincing victory in a Grade 1 miler in mid-October in Italy. With Racing Post ratings of 129 and 125 in Dubai, he has the speed and talent to act with Goldikova and the like, but that’s only if he gets the kind of trip in so dearly desires.

Concerns: Gladiatorus might be the second coming of Lure — he certainly looked that way in Dubai — but need-the-lead types are always difficult to trust. A slow start, a poor post, and other contending speed can squash his one dimensional game plan and Gladiatorus will find out soon enough that nobody can simply cruise to the front at a mile on turf at Santa Anita without a fight. That said, we wouldn’t want to be backing the horse that tries to go head-and-head with him.

Bottom Line: Gladiatorus has the ability to be very dangerous, but how much so depends on factors out of his control — like the post position draw and the presence of other speed. He’s the kind of colt you wish you’d bet on when the field straightens into the backstretch and he’s the controlling speed after an opening quarter in :23 flat. That’s a best case scenario for him, but it’s happened in this race before and Gladiatorus — the spring version, anyway — is good enough to make it happen again.