Full Serrano wins the Dirt Mile (Ernie Belmonte/Past The Wire)
Breeders’ Cup Press Release
DEL MAR, Calif.— Hronis Racing’s Full Serrano (ARG) ($28.80) swept to the front at the top of the stretch and had more than enough to hold off Post Time by 1 1/2 lengths to win the 18th running of the $1 million Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) to conclude the two-day World Championships program at Del Mar.
Trained by John Sadler and ridden by Joel Rosario, Full Serrano completed the mile on a fast main track in 1:35.48. It is the third Breeders’ Cup victory for Sadler and 16th for Rosario. Rosario previously won the Dirt Mile with Dakota Phone in 2010 and Knicks Go in 2020.
Longshot T O Saint Denis (JPN) led the field through fractions of :22.30 and :45.47 with Full Serrano lurking just to his outside. On the far turn, Full Serrano went looking for the lead and in the stretch quickly opened up. Post Time rallied from last to get second, 2 ¼ lengths in front of favored Domestic Product.
Ful Serrano is a 5-year-old son of Full Mast out of the Jump Start mare Serra Do Mar (ARG). The victory, which came on the heels of a runner-up effort in the 1 ¼-mile Pacific Classic (G1), was worth $520,000 and increased his earnings to $797,223 with a record of 17-6-5-2.
Quotes:
Winning trainer John Sadler, Full Serrano (ARG) – “We were quite nervous at the draw. We know you need a good draw, especially at Del Mar. This is one of my home tracks and I hold a lot of records here — most stakes wins, etc. When we were hanging out there at the draw and there were a couple posts left and one was the 14 and one was the 3, I was thrilled to get the post 3. From there on out, we got a really good ride from Joel (Rosario). He’s my home boy. We’ve been together for a long time.
“This horse came to me and has done well since we’ve had him here. Unfortunately, he got a little sick when we went back to Santa Anita, so he didn’t get a run in the prep. He might have been in the Classic, had he not got a little temperature.
“I’d like to, if it works well, run in the Pegasus and then look possibly at the Middle East for this horse”
Winning jockey Joel Rosario, Full Serrano (ARG) – “I had a really good trip. We broke good, put myself in a good position and that was the key to winning the race on a speed track.”
Trainer Brittany Russell, second with Post Time – “Huge result. Huge result. What a horse! We’re tickled. That was awesome.
“His running style makes it a little tricky, but Sheldon rode him great and he came with his run and a huge race.
“I’m watching and man, he’s back there. They were running in front, but I’m always a little anxious watching a horse like this run because he had to pick his way through a bit. But, hey, we’re delighted. He ran huge. That was a great race.”
Jockey Sheldon Russell, second with Post Time – “Great effort. A lot of people mentioned to me coming into the race that this track was known for speed and he has to be close. He broke how he always breaks. I left him alone and we got a great trip on the inside. I sort of just followed Flavien [Prat] the whole way down the backside. I don’t know what really happened. I just got a great split up the inside and it all opened up.
“Today I really thought it was going to be his day, and he ran all the way to the line. Maybe the short stretch was a bit of a disadvantage because I feel like he was coming. A great effort by the team. He always shows up and we’re over the moon.”
Trainer Chad Brown, third with beaten favorite Domestic Product – “He got a great trip. He was third best today. Maybe at this level, Breeders’ Cup, Grade 1 level, he might not want to run quite this far. This race developed perfectly for him; he just wasn’t good enough. I was very proud of him. He got a nice third and he had a perfect, perfect trip. Sierra (Leone) really saved the day. We had a couple other horses that ran really well. This horse got a good third and I’m really proud of Raging Sea (second in the Distaff). Some other things just didn’t work out for us. Ways and Means (fifth in the Filly & Mare Sprint) was really close to a hot pace and it sort of emptied her the last sixteenth. I could say the same about Carl Spackler (IRE) (sixth in the Mile).”
Jockey Flavien Prat, third with beaten favorite Domestic Product – “Very good effort. I loved my trip. It looked like turning for home I was going to win. I think it’s about as far as he wants to go.”
