Burnham Square too good in Arlington Million
Wins fourth straight race
Frank Vespe
August 1, 2026
Burnham Square was a pretty nice dirt horse and a pretty nice three-year-old.
But as a four-year-old turfer? He’s something very special, indeed.
Burnham Square continued to lay waste to the older turf division in Saturday’s Grade 1 Arlington Million, prevailing by a half-length for his fourth consecutive triumph on the turf, and first in Grade 1 company.
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But he had to work for it.
“I really felt this was a race that would be hard to win,” said winning trainer Ian Wilkes. “You’re shortening back up, coming from the mile-and-a-half, mile-and-a-half, mile-and-three-eighths, back to two turns. That’s a different type of race.”
In his first two turf stakes tries, Burnham Square had come from off the pace to run down his rivals. Last time out, in the ungraded Chorleywood at Churchill Downs, he zipped to the front, set leisurely fractions, and narrowly fended off a lengthy and spirited challenge from Chapman’s Peak to win by a neck.
Today under Brian Hernandez, Jr., Burnham Square reverted to type, galloping along comfortably in sixth place for the first half and three quarters of a mile. He was about four lengths back as longshot Layabout controlled the clock in 48.85 seconds for a half-mile and three quarters in 1:13.70.
“In the Chorleywood last time, he kind of got on the lead,” Hernandez explained. “He was a little aggressive, so today I just kind of wanted to get him covered up a bit and just get him in a nice rhythm the first part, and then he shot up from there. He’s got that versatility.”
Hernandez put Burnham Square into action on the far turn, and the four-year-old Liam’s Map gelding cruised up nicely while four wide on the far turn. But the leading duo of Layabout and Gran Oriente weren’t about to make it easy for him, and Burnham Square had to fight for the win, inching away in the final sixteenth to win by a half-length over Gran Oriente, who was a nose better than the late-arriving Dresden Row. Layabout, off at 67-1, was another neck farther back in fourth.
“I was following [third wagering choice] integration, and Integration didn’t kind of sprint on like I thought he was,” Hernandez said. “So I tipped out, and he shot off pretty good. And from there, we just kind of thought that he’d grind them out, which he did.”
Running time for the 1 ¼ miles on firm turf was 2:00.80.
“He’s got a great turn of foot. That’s his asset,” Wilkes said. “You know, even at a mile and a quarter, to be able to have that turn of foot, that’s a big asset for you.”
Burnham Square, a homebred for Whitham Thoroughbreds LLC, is now 7-for-15 in his career with earnings just shy of $2.9 million. He now has Grade 1 wins on both turf and dirt (last year’s Blue Grass), but it’s clear his future is on grass.
Wilkes said that he might tinker with Burnham Square’s blinkers going forward, moving to a smaller, less-enclosed type known as cheaters because he said the horse has “matured enough to have that.” His next planned start is in the Grade 2, $2 million Kentucky Turf Cup September 5 at Kentucky Downs.
But as he tinkers, Wilkes said, he’ll strive to keep one fact in mind.
“I can only do what the horse can do running. It’s all about the horse,” Wilkes said. “That’s one thing we can’t forget is the horse. I’m fortunate enough to train him. Great owners have sent me the horse… As Carl Nafzger always told me, you get a good horse, stay out of his way.”
NOTES In the day’s other graded stake, the Grade 2 Secretariat for three-year-olds, Supercharger posted a mild upset, rallying from seventh to win by a half-length in 1:41.24 for 1 1/16 miles on turf. Infiltrate was second and heavy favorite Alpyland was third. Manny Franco was in the irons for Supercharger, who won his third straight for trainer Cherie DeVaux and owners C R K Stable LLC…
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