ARCADIA, Calif., March 1 (UPI) -- Milwaukee Brew won a classic battle with heavily favored Congaree over the final 100 yards Saturday to become the second two-time winner of the $1 million Santa Anita Handicap.
Ridden by Edgar Prado, Milwaukee Brew kept pace with Congaree, who led heading into the stretch but was beaten to the finish line by a head at Santa Anita Park.
Milwaukee Brew made a winner of trainer Bobby Frankel, who decided Tuesday to keep Travers Stake victor Madaglia d'Oro out of this race because he was dissatisfied with weight assignments.
That ended any chance of a meeting between North America's top two older horses and allowed jockey Jerry Bailey to return to Congaree.
Milwaukee Brew ended up carrying 119 pounds, five fewer than Congaree, the 4-5 favorite. The 6-year-old son of 1984 Breeders Cup Classic champion Wild Again, Milwaukee Brew covered 1 1/4 miles in 1:59.80 on a fast track.
The legendary John Henry is the only other horse with two victories in the "Big Cap," winning in 1981 and being awarded first place the following year when Perrault was disqualified for interference.
Frankel became the first trainer to win back-to-back runnings of the Santa Anita Handicap since Richard Mandella, who saddled Siphon in 1997 and Malek in 1998.
Congaree was denied a fourth straight win in graded stakes races and was beaten for the first time in five starts at Santa Anita. But he finished four lengths in front of Kudos. Pleasantly Perfect, the 3-1 second choice, was fourth.
