Archarcharch, 2011 Arkansas Derby winner, dies after illness
He went by different names. Some called him Arch3 or simply Archie, however mindful was the latter of a sire of famous quarterbacks.
Where Archarcharch belonged, of course, was on the racetrack and then in the breeding shed. He made only seven starts, but one of his three victories came in the 2011 Grade 1 Arkansas Derby. And although he finished 15th in what was his last race, the son of stakes-winning Arch ran in the Kentucky Derby.
The Arkansas-owned colt died in Korea Oct. 15, the online Paulick Report said Thursday citing Korea Racing Association records. He had battled an illness believed to be caused by a parasitic infection. He received treatment over the autumn, the report said, but a worsening condition resulted in the decision to euthanize the 12-year-old stallion.
His top runner to date is Next Shares, winner of the Grade 1 Shadwell Turf Mile at Keeneland and still facing high-level turf horses. Another is Grade 2 winner Mr. Misunderstood, a Grade 2 winner of almost $1 million for Hot Springs owner Staton Flurry. He has one son at stud, Toews On Ice, a graded-stakes winner for trainer Bob Baffert who, like his sire, raced at Oaklawn Park.
Archarcharch earned $832,744 from a 7-3-1-1 record for Arkansas owners Bob and Val Yagos, Bob Yagos paying $60,000 for the then-yearling colt at Keeneland in September 2009.
In the second-straight Arkansas Derby win for jockey Jon Court, Archarcharch prevailed by a neck over eventual Kentucky Derby runner-up Nehro going nine furlongs. The winner benefited when The Factor, a front-running winner in
the Grade 2 Rebel four weeks earlier, could not make the lead in his Oaklawn return. A future Grade 1 winner for Baffert, The Factor finished seventh out of 13 as an odds-on favorite.
Archarcharch, beaten oddson choice in the Smarty Jones, paid $52.40 to win in the first Grade 1 victory for 70-year-old trainer William “Jinks” Fires, a native Arkansan who had raced locally for decades.
“Jinks gave us confidence in this horse since day one,” said Bob Yagos, who owned an auto-salvage yard in Jacksonville. The first jockey in 15 years to win back-to-back runnings of the Arkansas Derby, Court said, “Winning for Mr. Yagos and my father- in- law ( the jockey was married to the former Krystal Fires) makes it all that much sweeter. Kentucky Derby, here we come.”
Sadly, the highs and lows of the sport were manifested again on Derby Day in Louisville. His chances compromised by drawing the dreaded inside post, Archarcharch pulled up lame after the race and was vanned off after suffering a condylar fracture in his left-front leg. Even in his weakened condition, the colt beat four rivals in the 19-horse field going a mile and a quarter.
Archarcharch was prominent throughout the 2011 Oaklawn meeting, also winning the Grade 3 Southwest and placing third in the Rebel. His maiden victory came in his second out, the Sugar Bowl Stakes at Fair Grounds. Fires quickly identified the colt as a Kentucky Derby hopeful in that he carried his speed around two turns.
Fourth in a foggy running of Oaklawn’s one-mile Smarty Jones, Archarcharch bounced back with a one-length victory in the Southwest at 14-1 odds. In that race, he evened the score against Caleb’s Posse, a future multiple- Grade 1 winner for trainer Donnie Von Hemel.
Archarcharch began stud duty in 2012 at Spendthrift Farms in Kentucky and was moved to Korea in late 2017.