Take Eagle One in Sunday’s Millard Ziadie

EAGLE ONE was forced to wave the white flag inside the last half-furlong of the Millard Ziadie Memorial two Sundays ago after in-form NUCLEAR NOON powered through to win in a strong 1:07.1.

Returning for the Henry W Jaghai feature at six furlongs with a token four-pound rise at the scale, EAGLE ONE again has his United States-bred compatriot, MADELYN'S SUNSHINE, as the horse to chase in the nine-horse field.

EAGLE ONE gave it his best shot in the Millard Ziadie, attempting to slip NUCLEAR NOON by getting the first run on stablemate MADELYN'S SUNSHINE at five and a half furlongs.

However, no sooner had EAGLE ONE ranged up to challenge MADELYN'S SUNSHINE a furlong out, NUCLEAR NOON was all over him, franking the form of his last two races, beaten by YELLOWSTONE in January and run off his legs when allowing EMPEROROFTHECATS weight on last.

After NUCLEAR NOON went by, EAGLE ONE was clearly second-best, finishing a length and quarter ahead of weakening MADELYN'S SUNSHINE, who blew up after ripping splits of 23.0, 34.4 and 46.3.

MADELYN'S SUNSHINE might not be in such a hurry this time but runs a half-furlong longer and still has topweight 126lb, allowing EAGLE ONE, who will prefer the additional half-furlong to reel in his speedy stablemate.

Champion trainer Jason DaCosta has an iron grip on the event, throwing in the local-bred filly, OUTBIDDER, who will run with 108lb, thanks to claiming-rider Abigail Able's seven-pound bug.

Though light, OUTBIDDER would prefer a more relaxed pace, especially being a newcomer against seasoned overnight-allowance stablemates. MADELYN'S SUNSHINE has only been led twice in nine outings, chasing on the other two occasions, which tells the tale of the splits to expect in the first five furlongs.