LOUISVILLE, Ky. – This was the moment trainer Michael McCarthy had spent seemingly his whole life waiting for, from the time he first started going to the races as a youth at Santa Anita, not far from his family home in Arcadia, Calif., to his first jobs on the track, his association as a longtime assistant to Todd Pletcher, where he worked in concert with Javier Castellano, and then after striking out on his own nearly five years ago. His professional odyssey had taken him from California to New York, to Kentucky and Florida, but on Saturday, as he stood under the twin spires at Churchill Downs, waiting for City of Light to return from his powerful victory in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, the sweet satisfaction of his first Breeders’ Cup win, and what it took to get there, was not lost on him. “I’m a little emotional,” McCarthy said. “I can’t tell you how long I was waiting for this.” McCarthy had been itching to take on Catalina Cruiser, who came into the race unbeaten in four starts and was the 4-5 favorite. He thought City of Light was the superior horse, the best miler in the country, and he wanted to prove it. “I always thought this would be a mismatch,” he said. “I thought he would love this racetrack. Backing up to one turn where his best races were, I thought he would run away and hide and he did just that.” But he also wanted to win it for his parents, Terrence – fondly known as “Mac” – and JoAnn, who could not make the race, and his late father-in-law, Dr. Robert McNamara, a popular fixture at Santa Anita who died unexpectedly of a heart attack in February, all of them, along with his wife, Erin, people who had supported him through his quest to get to this moment. “This is a very satisfying, just sorry my parents and father-in-law couldn’t be here,” McCarthy said. “I had a good feeling about this horse last night.” In truth, he had had a good feeling about City of Light for months. After a wide trip that resulted in a loss when favored in the Forego at Saratoga, McCarthy made the decision to train City of Light at Santa Anita and come into the Dirt Mile off a layoff of more than two months. In the past year, City of Light had won Grade 1 races going seven furlongs in the Malibu and Triple Bend at Santa Anita, and going 1 1/8 miles in the Oaklawn Handicap. He firmly believed the Dirt Mile was the best race for City of Light to show off in the Breeders’ Cup, the 1 1/4 miles of the Classic being a bit beyond his optimum. City of Light trained brilliantly at Santa Anita, then had a sharp final workout at Churchill Downs last weekend. On Monday came the only hiccup. He drew the rail. “That took all the guesswork out of it,” McCarthy said. “All I was hoping for was a clean break.” City of Light broke well, then used his speed to rush up and take the lead through an opening quarter of the one-turn mile in 22.64 seconds. Trigger Warning, Firenze Fire, and Catalina Cruiser were in closest attendance, fanned in that order outside of City of Light. Trigger Warning was the first to yield. City of Light maintained a small lead into the far turn, after a half-mile in a brisk 45.16 seconds, and Castellano was able to deftly get City of Light off the inside. “I didn’t want to bury myself on the inside part,” Castellano said. As the field moved around the far turn, City of Light began to widen on the competition, and Catalina Cruiser began to sputter. City of Light passed the six-furlong mark in 1:09.03, was up by three passing the furlong pole, and cruised home 2 3/4 lengths the best in 1:33.83 for one mile on the fast main track. “At the three-eighths I felt good, and at the quarter pole I felt even better,” McCarthy said. City of Light, the second choice, paid $7.20 for $2 to win. Seeking the Soul, last of nine early, rallied to be second, 2 1/2 lengths in front of third-place Bravazo. Firenze Fire faded to fourth, then came, in order, Giant Expectations, Catalina Cruiser – who finished 17 1/2 lengths behind City of Light – Trigger Warning, Seven Trumpets, and Isotherm. Awesome Slew was scratched on Friday. Castellano gave much of the credit to McCarthy, who tabbed Castellano for the mount. Drayden Van Dyke, who had ridden City of Light in the Malibu and Triple Bend, opted for Catalina Cruiser when they both ran on Aug. 25 – City of Light at Saratoga, Catalina Cruiser at Del Mar – and after the wide trip in the Forego under Irad Ortiz Jr., Castellano was brought in for the Dirt Mile. “He told me how to ride the horse,” said Castellano, who won countless races with McCarthy when he was Pletcher’s assistant. “We had a lot of success in the past.” City of Light, 4, is a colt by Quality Road who is owned by William and Suzanne Warren, whose biggest Breeders’ Cup victory came with Saint Liam in the 2005 Classic. City of Light has now won 5 times in 10 starts, and William Warren said the Pegasus at Gulfstream in January could be next. “We weren’t crazy about the number one hole, but he prevailed and we are thrilled beyond words,” Suzanne Warren said. No one, though, was happier than McCarthy, for himself, the people who supported him, and for a horse who backed up his belief. “I can’t tell you how talented this horse is,” he said.