Waiting to see which Arrogate shows up
Is Arrogate the horse that finished a distant fourth at odds of 1-20 in the San Diego Handicap or the one that won his seven previous races, including the world’s three richest?
The answer should come in the Grade 1, $1 million Pacific Classic on Saturday at Del Mar. And it could determine whether Arrogate gets the chance to defend his Breeders’ Cup Classic title and become the world’s first thoroughbred to pass $20 million in earnings.
The Breeders’ Cup (also at Del Mar) is Nov. 4 and both it and the Pacific Classic cover 1¼ miles — a distance at which Arrogate is undefeated in three starts.
But how could a seemingly great horse run such a clunker in the 11⁄16-mile San Diego Handicap on July 22 at Del Mar?
“He was just flat,” trainer Bob Baffert said. “He laid an egg. I prepped him pretty much like usual, but I came into the race thinking I didn’t have to do that much with him.”
Arrogate has had three sharp workouts in preparation for the Pacific Classic as he seeks to add to his $17,102,600 in earnings.
Among the seven horses running against Arrogate is the Baffert-trained Collected, who has dominated all three starts this year, capped by a 14-length victory in the Grade 2 Precisionist Stakes on June 24 at Santa Anita. Also in the field is Accelerate, who finished third in the Precisionist Stakes, then added blinkers and led from the start to win the San Diego Handicap by 8½ lengths.
Briefly: Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer doesn’t have a horse in the Pacific Classic, but he is represented in three other important races Saturday: It Tiz Well in the Grade 1, $600,000 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga, Tapped in the Grade 1, $300,000 Del Mar Oaks and He Will in the Grade 2, $250,000 Del Mar Handicap. … Hollendorfer’s two-time Eclipse Award winner, Songbird, who has won 13 of 14 starts, runs in the Grade 1, $700,000 Personal Ensign Stakes next Saturday at Saratoga. … The Sonoma County Fair meeting ends Sunday, and Golden Gate Fields’ summer season opens Thursday. Larry Stumes is a freelance writer.