All Hail Arrogate
For the first time since the Breeder's Cup began, I had an 0'fer. Yes, I was 0 out of all the races run. It was humbling and very maddening because in 4 consecutive races, my exacta boxes came in 1st and 3rd. Had they been 1st, 2nd, the exacta would have paid quite well, thank you. I hate days like that because you're all around it. I'd rather get beat so badly that you scratch your head and ask "what didn't I see?"Sentiero Italia in one of the turf races with Joel Rosario was my live longshot of the day. I wonder if he was alive entering the race. An inexplicable rear end finish. My best bet of the day was Haveyougoneaway. She answered the question emphatically- Yes, she has gone away...and with my money, to boot!
In the Classic, I felt Arrogate's Travers romp was a fluke considering before the Travers, the horse was running in $40,000 and $62,500 Optional Claiming races. Then trainer Bob Baffert shot for the moon by entering him in the Travers, a mile and a quarter, Grade 1 stakes race. I thought he was nuts. He got listed 20/1 morning line and was sent off 11/1. In all honesty, he should have been sent off at 50/1 or better. He had post position #1 and took off and never looked back scoring a triple digit Beyer of 122, setting a stakes and track record for the distance. Wow! Who knew? That dramatic an improvement told me he might have freaked for a day and he'd come back to earth.
California Chrome, meanwhile, was beating everything coming his way in California posting triple digit Beyers each and every time maxing out at 113. Chromie drew post #4 for the Classic while Arrogate drew post #10. So, Arrogate, if he was for real, needed to get out of the gate quick to establish position and had to run with California Chrome who was a legitimate speed horse. Add to the mix Effinex who has had triple digit Beyer efforts along with Melatonin and Hoppertunity and this race was no "gimme". It turned into one of the best races in Breeder's Cup history.
Arrogate wins by a half-length posting a Beyer of 120 and California Chrome was 2nd posting a Beyer of 119, his career best. Keen Ice finished 3rd by a nose over Hoppertunity 18 lengths back. That's how good the top two were. It was a race that didn't deserve a loser. You hoped for a California Chrome/Arrogate dead heat.
So, Arrogate appears to be the "real deal" and his connections say he'll race as a 4 year old next year. If he keeps up the stamina he's shown in the Travers and yesterday, the horse will be unbeatable. California Chrome will have one more race; then, it's off to stud. He will have earned nearly $18 Million and given all of us some great racing thrills. Thanks, Art Sherman for a wonderful training job and thank God for giving Art Sherman the ride of his life.
Racetrack Lenny
racetrack lenny went to the post at @ 5:29 PM
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