Man of Iron wins Breeders' Cup Marathon

ARCADIA, California (AFP) - Man of Iron, trained by Aidan O'Brien and ridden by Johnny Murtagh, won the 1 3/4-mile, 500,000-dollar Breeders' Cup Marathon in a photo finish at Santa Anita Park on Friday.

Murtagh brought Iron Man through on the inside to snatch the victory from Cloudy's Knight, with Godolphin's St. Leger-winner Mastery third under Frankie Dettori.

The victory was O'Brien's fourth career Breeders' Cup triumph, but his first since High Chaparral claimed the 2003 Turf.

The Marathon kicked off the 2009 edition of the Breeders' Cup, which will feature 14 races worth 25.5 million-dollars over two days, capped by Saturday's five million-dollar Classic.

Friday's six-race slate culminates with the two million-dollar Ladies' Classic.