Arlington Heights, Ill. ? It was perhaps the best money Catherine Day Phillips ever spent, when she and her husband dropped $2,500 to buy Jambalaya in 2003. On Saturday, the 5-year-old gelding from Canada won the 25th Arlington Million.

Jambalaya found a seam down the stretch and was able to catch and pass defending champion The Tin Man, making Phillips the first female trainer to win the major turf race.

The Tin Man, at age 9, was foiled in his bid to become the first back-to-back winner of the race, but was caught inside the 16th pole and beaten by three-quarters of a length.

Previously nominated, Jambalaya’s victory entitles him to an automatic entry in the $3 million Breeders’ Cup Turf. With Robby Albarado aboard, Jambalaya started on the inside, stayed close in fourth position and then came on at the end of a slow-paced race. Jambalaya, at 7-1 odds, won the 11â4-mile turf race in 2:04.76 and paid $17.20, $6.60 and $3.80.