ARCADIA — Johannes returned to a familiar winner’s circle Saturday with a solid victory in the City of Hope Mile at Santa Anita, the 5-year-old’s first of a frustrating season.

The 1¼-length repeat triumph in the $200,000, Grade II City of Hope with jockey Umberto Rispoli may not have been everything envisioned by owner Joe McCloskey, who said during the week that the goal with Johannes was “winning large.”

But it probably was just what the horse needed, a routine repeat of Johannes’ 2024 win in the City of Hope to set him up for an attempt to improve on last year’s second-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Del Mar on Nov. 1.

“As Tim (Yakteen, Johannes’ trainer) has explained to me, sometimes it’s better just to win, (so) you don’t take too much out of the horse,” McCloskey said.

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