What in the heck happened to Arrogate after his spectacular victory in the Group I, $10 million Dubai World Cup last March 25? When Arrogate rallied from far back to win the race in Dubai going away by 2 1/2 lengths after a terrible start, he looked like a true super horse. Not only did […]
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The three top-ranked Thoroughbreds in the land are headed for a dramatic showdown in this year’s $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar on Nov. 4. No wonder racing enthusiasts are eagerly looking forward to that particular Grade I event, which will be decided at 1 1/4 miles on the dirt. Gun Runner, Arrogate […]
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Will Arrogate regain his top form and crush his foes, just as he did in the Travers, Pegasus World Cup and Dubai World Cup? Is Arrogate going to get the victory, but have to battle for it? Will Arrogate get beat again, but at least run decently in defeat this time? Is Arrogate going to […]
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Last Saturday at Del Mar in the San Diego Handicap, Arrogate, the world’s greatest racehorse, raised his tail and…well…you know. He did it right there on the track in front of everyone. It wasn’t pretty. And, because the attention of the entire racing world was glued to the event, a little landed on everyone. You […]
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The wait is almost over. To the delight of a great many racing enthusiasts, Arrogate gets back to business this Saturday at Del Mar in the Grade II San Diego Handicap, a 1 1/16-mile affair that has drawn a field of six. This will be Arrogate’s first start since a sensational last-to-first victory in the […]
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West Coast, a convincing winner of Belmont Park’s Easy Goer Stakes for Hall of Fame horseman Bob Baffert, and Klimt, a Grade I winner for Baffert last year who now is being trained by Art Sherman, head this Saturday’s Grade III Los Alamitos Derby. Eight are entered in the 1 1/8-miles affair. West Coast is […]
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Now that it is July, it’s time for this column’s ranking of the Top 10 performances by a Thoroughbred in the United States during the first half of the year. A Thoroughbred’s performance can make my list for a variety of reasons, such as: –A win by a big margin while showing brilliance. –Recording a […]
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We are almost halfway through 2017. With that in mind, if there were such a thing as Eclipse Awards for the first half of the year, these would be my votes, excluding the 2-year-old, human and steeplechase categories: MID-YEAR THREE-YEAR-OLD MALE: 1. Always Dreaming, 2. Tapwrit, 3. Classic Empire. I think Mastery was best 3-year-old […]
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Now that the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes have come and gone, the race for which 3-year-old eventually will be voted a 2017 Eclipse Award as champion 3-year-old male is wide open. This is in stark contrast to two years ago. Midway through 2015, American Pharoah already had essentially clinched both the Horse […]
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The original assignment in this space for this week was for yours truly to analyze a pair of upcoming 3-year-old races: Florida and Louisiana Derbies. After all, the first Saturday in May is just around the corner and this season’s Kentucky Derby picture still is as blurry as an underwater eye chart. That’s mostly because […]
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It was a performance for the ages by a horse for the ages. Dead last early after a tardy start that then was exacerbated by being bumped a number of times in the opening strides like a piñata while being squeezed back, Arrogate amazingly still won last Saturday’s Group I Dubai World Cup. Not only […]
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Old fashioned press clippings, newfangled Internet blogs, Twitter feeds and Facebook posts all claim he’s best in the world. Anointed king of the turf on the third rock from the sun. Better even than ice cream. All that and a bag of chips. Sometimes, such lofty plaudits, even if accurate, spoil athletes. An inflated opinion […]
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The eyes of the racing world will be on Gulfstream Park when the Pegasus World Cup Invitational is run for the first time this Saturday. Its opulence in horse racing is unprecedented. The $12 million purse makes it the richest horse race that has ever been contested on the planet (or in the universe, for […]
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Below is the late Pick 4 ticket for Pegasus World Cup Day on January 28th, 2017 at Gulfstream Park. As always, the ticket is $20 or less. Race 9: Power Alert (#11, 4-1) is one of the most honest horses in training. When he gets a firm course and a decent trip, he always runs his race. […]
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Listen to Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert and ex-jockey turned veteran trainer Art Sherman talk, and you’d be positive that Arrogate, conditioned by the former, and California Chrome, saddled by the latter, can’t help but finish in a dead-heat Saturday in the world’s richest horse race—the $12 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream […]
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