Arrogate: Good is not Good Enough

The problem with being Arrogate (Unbridled's Song) is that you can turn in a good effort in a Grade I race, get beat by a talented horse and show improvement over your last start and it's not nearly enough. Though second in Saturday's GI TVG Pacific Classic at Del Mar, Arrogate's race was disappointing.

Arrogate turned in a clunker in the GII San Diego H. That was not the case in the Pacific Classic as he finished second, beaten a half-length behind stablemate Collected (City Zip). Though he never seemed to level off or get comfortable, Arrogate showed enough determination and class to cut into the margin late and make a race out of it.

Collected's victory was his fourth straight and he was coming off a 14-length romp in the GIII Precisionist S., so it is not like Arrogate was beaten by just any horse. But the Arrogate that went on a devastating run in the GI Travers S., GI Breeders' Cup Classic, GI Pegasus Invitational and the G1 Dubai World Cup would have soundly beaten a horse like Collected. It was no more than a month ago when you, me, Meydan announcer Terry Spargo and everyone with an opinion was calling this horse the second coming of Man o'War.

What has happened to this horse since? No one seems to know and the Bob Baffert and Juddmonte camps, to their credit, have not fallen back on making any tired excuses. They accept defeat and then go back to scratching their heads. One obvious possibility is that his effort in the Dubai World Cup, where he wore down the very talented Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}) after missing the break was so taxing it took an irreparable toll on him. Some will insist that he doesn't like Del Mar, the site of his last two defeats, but the “he didn't handle the surface” excuse has always been a nebulous excuse. Please don't try to argue that he was overrated; he was not.

Now what?

The horse could not be in better hands when it comes to Baffert and Juddmonte and whatever decision they make will no doubt be a prudent one, but the risk may outweigh the reward in terms of continuing to run him. People's memories aren't so short that Arrogate won't be very well received when he goes off to stud, but, right now, he's no longer the horse to beat in the  GI Breeders' Cup Classic. Gun Runner is.

Arrogate deserved a shot to show that he was back, that the San Diego H. was a fluke. There was no redemption in the Pacific Classic, no answers to the mysteries that surround this horse.

Best News of Week: Porter's Recovery

We learned midweek that Rick Porter was cancer free when the news was posted to his Fox Hill Farm's Facebook page. It was a year ago when Porter was so ill he could not make it to Saratoga to watch Songbird (Medaglia d'Oro) win the Alabama. Porter tried to keep his illness private, but so many people knew about it and cared about him that it was impossible to do so. He was very sick.

In what might have seemed like a Hail Mary, Porter entered an experimental treatment program at Massachusetts General Hospital earlier this year. His doctors threw a touchdown.

“Remarkably, and thankfully, his test results showed that he is cancer free–in complete remission,” read the Facebook post.

Porter is one of the good guys, an owner who so enjoys the sport he puts the thrill above the almighty dollar. While many would be looking to cash in on Songbird's success and breed her, Porter has said he has no plans to do so and may keep running his 4-year-old for years to come. That could be 15, 16 additional races–and, it looks like Porter will be there in person for every one.

And Back at Del Mar

Not that you didn't already know this, but Phil D'Amato is one good horse trainer.

Through the first 21 starts of his career, Hunt (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) had never won a race longer than 6 1/2 furlongs. He was a capable turf sprinter, but there's only so much money that can be earned in grass sprints. D'Amato must have sensed that Hunt was capable of more. He equipped him with blinkers for the nine-furlong GII Eddie Read S. and the horse responded with a one-length win. There was every reason to believe a 1 1/8-mile was the limit for Hunt, but D'Amato asked for even more Saturday, running him in the 1 3/8-mile GII Del Mar H. Again, he won, this time by three-quarters of a length. With his having cleared that hurdle, there's no reason to think he can't win at a 1 1/2 miles and be competitive in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf.

The other graded stakes on the Del Mar card was the GI Del Mar Oaks, won by Dream Dancing (Tapit) for the combination of trainer mark Casse, jockey Julien Leparoux and owner John Oxley.

Back in the pack, something odd happened. Pacific Wind (Curlin), ridden by Corey Nakatani, sawed off Kathy's Song (Candy Ride {Arg}). It was an obvious incident, but it had no bearing on anything. Pacific Wind crossed the wire ninth and Kathy's Song was right behind her in 10th. The purse money ($345) for both placings is the same and obviously neither horse was involved in anything that had do with winning wagers. Yet the stewards disqualified Pacific Wind and placed her behind Kathy's Song. Why bother? Perhaps they were none too happy with Mr. Nakatani and wanted to send him a message.

Sunday at Saratoga

Yes, lumping a lot of big races on the same card is a trend, and one that is working. Everyone wants to have Super Saturdays or a Super Sunday, events that draw extra eyeballs to your races and put additional fans in the seats. The downside is that by doing so you are left with lackluster cards on other days. Case in point: Sunday's card at Saratoga.

It's a weekend racing card at the Mecca of American racing, yet the feature yesterday was a restricted stakes, the $100,000 Summer Colony. That shouldn't be.

The Saturday card already had the GI Alabama S. Running the GII Lake Placid on the same program added nothing to the day. Why not move the Lake Placid to Sunday and make it the feature, rather than a very forgettable minor stakes?

To Winx's Connections: Get Her Over Here

Dear Peter and Patty Tighe, Richard Treweeke and Debbie Kepitis: Congratulations on another great win by the mare you own, Winx (Aus) (Street Cry {Ire}). She showed again what a remarkable horse she is by winning the G2 Warwick S. after breaking poorly. Eighteen straight wins is special.

But beating the same horses race after race is not. Aren't you ready to give her a true test of her greatness? Certainly, she deserves as much. You may have heard, we have a pretty special series of races over here called the Breeders' Cup. It will be held Nov. 3 and 4 this year and at a place called Del Mar. You'll really like it. The track is beautiful and the weather is marvelous.

They'll even offer you a choice of races to run in, the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf or you can take on males in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf. Win that race and you will have confirmed she's a great horse not just a great Australian race horse.

I am sure the nice people at the Breeders' Cup would be happy to help you with your arrangements. You can reach them at 1-859-223-5444.