Racing: Sulamani steals the Million as Stevens takes a tumble

The 21st running of the Arlington Million will be remembered for many more reasons than providing Godolphin's 100th top-level winner. It was a race that embodied most of the elements that make racing such an enduring fascination: drama, danger, uncertainty, intensity of feeling and a certain amount of poetry, in terms of both motion and (adjectivally) justice.

The David Flores-ridden Sulamani is in the record books as the winner of the Chicago track's showpiece, but neither that bare fact, nor to state baldly that he finished second and was awarded the race after the demotion of the horse first past the post, Storming Home, does justice to the actuality.

The ex-Brit Storming Home, though so nearly the hero, turned out to be the villain of the piece and in these parts there will be much sage nodding. For although the five-year-old is undeniably talented - he won last year's Champion Stakes when with Barry Hills and went into the Million as a well-backed favourite after notching two for two since his transfer to Neil Drysdale in the United States - he is as undeniably quirky.

On Saturday night he reverted to his old monkey tricks, with consequences that were only a peanut-shell from catastrophe.

Three strides from the line, having come to win his race after a dream run under Gary Stevens, Storming Home appeared to see something to his distaste in the infield, boggled his blinkered eyes and jinked violently right-handed. He took out his immediate pursuers, the Brian Meehan-trained Kaieteur and Germany's Paolini, and unseated the hapless Stevens just after the finish.

Both Rene Douglas, on Kaieteur, and Andreas Suborics, on Paolini, objected, the stewards inquired and, as Storming Home had patently compromised the chances of the dead-heating pair so close behind him, he had to go. A hometown decision was never an option.

Sulamani, challenging wide and late, was not affected by the mêlée and actually put up a performance of extraordinary merit. From the coffin draw on the inside rail Flores had to steer him to the outside to find daylight, not exactly Plan A round the final turn into such a short straight. But once in full flying cry, the sleek bay four-year-old is an object of beauty and his superb effort failed by a head only. Strongly arguably, he was the best horse in the race and deserved the £375,000 prize.

Some of the gloss, though, was taken off Godolphin's achievement in reaching the Group One and Grade One century by the reaction of the crowd. In the absence of Sheikh Mohammed, the blues' racing manager, Simon Crisford, received the prize and was roundly booed as he did so.

Yesterday he put the negative emotions down to horseplayers' anguish rather than anything more politically sinister. "The impression I got was that it was just disgruntled punters who were cross because the favourite had been stood down," he said. "We would in fact have preferred to get to the milestone in a different manner - you could not have written the script for what happened - but it all just shows how hard it is to win a race at this level. They don't grow on apple trees." Sulamani will remain in the US pro tem while options on both sides of the Atlantic are considered.

Balanchine set the ball rolling for Godolphin in the 1994 Oaks and the tally now reads 42 in Britain, 13 in France, 12 in the States, 10 in Ireland, nine in Italy, five each in Germany and Dubai, and one each in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Canada.

Sheikh Mohammed puts it all down to the three Ps - planning, preparation and patience - but Dubai Destination, favourite for the Prix Jacques le Marois at Deauville yesterday, appeared not have read the primer as he failed to launch the road to 200 in finishing a lack-lustre fifth. His intended participation in tomorrow's International at York is now under review.

The winner was the hitherto luckless filly Six Perfections, who put narrow defeats in two Guineas behind her by inching out her Pascal Bary stablemate Domedriver. Swings and roundabouts: she runs in the Niarchos colours which were carried by Sulamani until he was head-hunted by Godolphin last year.

ARLINGTON (SATURDAY)

ARLINGTON MILLION: 1. SULAMANI (D Flores) 5-2 fav; dead-heat 2. Paolini 9-1; 2. Kaieteur 14-1. 13 ran. hd, dead-heat. (Saeed Bin Suroor). Tote: £3.80; places £2.60, £3.60 (Paolini), £6.00 (Kaieteur). Exacta: £26.50 & £49.20. CSF: £13.15 & £20.06. Storming Home (3-1) was first past the post but disqualified and placed 4th. Starting prices are UK bookmakers' "industry prices".

DEAUVILLE (YESTERDAY)

PRIX JACQUES LE MAROIS: 1. SIX PERFECTIONS (T Thulliez) 100-30; 2. Domedriver 7-1; 3. Telegnosis 40-1. 14 ran. evens fav Dubai Destination. hd, 1. (P Bary). Tote: £3.80; £2.10, £4.80, £14.60. Exacta: £35.60. CSF: £26.69. Non Runner: Zafeen.