Arrogate has been officially confirmed as the world’s best racehorse of 2016, with his rating of 134 matching the figure achieved by 2015 champion American Pharoah, who was also trained by Bob Baffert.
Arrogate produced his defining performance in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, and you have to go back to 2012 – when the imperious Frankel was on the scene – to find a performance rated higher than his half-length beating of seven-time Grade 1 winner California Chrome.
Second on the list with a rating of 133 is California Chrome, who enjoyed a stellar year and put up top-class performances in winning the $1 million TVG Pacific Classic and Awesome Again Stakes.
California Chrome may have lost out to Arrogate at the Longines World’s Best Racehorse ceremony in London on Tuesday but he was named American Horse of the Year at the prestigious Eclipse Awards last week.
The pair will leave behind the battle for ceremonial honours and resume competition on the track in the inaugural running of the $12 million Pegasus World Cup – the world’s richest horse race – at Gulfstream Park on Saturday.
International dominance
The highest-rated turf performer is star Australian mare Winx, who earned a rating of 132 through her eight-length beating of Hartnell in the William Hill Cox Plate during the Melbourne spring carnival. To put Winx’s achievement into context, Black Caviar, who retired in 2013 as a national hero and unbeaten after 25 starts, also attained a career-high figure of 132.
Only three European-trained horses feature among the top ten in the world, with Jean Claude-Rouget’s Almanzor, who achieved a rating of 129 through his wins in the Qipco Irish Champion Stakes and Qipco Champion Stakes, faring best by a significant margin.
Found and Postponed were the other two European-trained horses to break into the top ten and they share the honour of being the highest-rated horses from Britain or Ireland. However, their rating of 124 compares poorly against those who have previously taken that crown.
It may have been an underwhelming season for European-trained horses on the whole, but with a rating of 129 Almanzor is an up-to-scratch flagbearer, rated just 1lb lower than last year’s Arc and Derby hero Golden Horn and higher than any other European-trained colt since 2013.
Race ratings
It’s easy to make a case for the Breeders’ Cup Classic being the most exciting contest of 2016 from a visual viewpoint, but it was also the world’s best race from a ratings perspective.
The average rating of the first four home in the Classic was 125.25, while the Qipco Irish Champion Stakes had the second highest average with 124.75.
There was a strong crop of Japanese colts in 2016, and the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) and the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) were the best three-year-old races in the world with a rating of 119.75, half a pound ahead of the Investec Derby.
There is also an annual competition to recognise the top jockeys throughout the world, which was won by Ryan Moore. Moore was presented with his prize for the Longines World’s Best Jockey at a ceremony last month.
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California Chrome regains US Horse of Year accolade
California Chrome was named American Horse of the Year for the second time on Saturday night at the annual Eclipse Awards ceremony, getting the better of his Breeders’ Cup conqueror Arrogate in the vote for the nation’s most prestigious racing award.
The equine Oscars took place at Gulfstream Park, where battle will be rejoined between California Chrome and Arrogate on Saturday in the Pegasus World Cup.
Arrogate is also likely to have been identified as world champion before then at the World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings, due to be revealed in London on Wednesday.
However, California Chrome – who had also won the award in 2014 – outpolled Arrogate by 202 votes to 40 in the ballot that really matters at the Eclipse Awards, which represent the pinnacle of achievement and define the de facto champions of the sport. There is no direct corollary in Europe – the Cartier Awards, for instance, fail to carry anywhere near as much clout.Songbird received five votes for Horse of the Year, while there was one for Ballydoyle’s Breeders’ Cup-winning globetrotter Highland Reel.Trained in California by veteran handler Art Sherman, California Chrome won seven of his starts last year including the Dubai World Cup and a five-length defeat of subsequent Distaff heroine Beholder in the Pacific Classic.
He duly became only the second horse to regain the Horse of the Year title since the Eclipse Awards began in 1971. John Henry was the other, winning in 1981 and 1984.
California Chrome, Arrogate and Songbird all won divisional titles earlier in the evening, with California Chrome the unanimous choice among the 248 voters as champion older dirt male, while Songbird was also unanimous among three-year-old females.
Arrogate polled 243 votes as three-year-old male.There was little sign of European success as Highland Reel took second place behind Flintshire – whom he beat at the Breeders’ Cup – in the male turf category while Found and Queen’s Trust took the minor placings as Royal Ascot winner Tepin deservedly retained her title as female turf champion.Tepin’s trainer Mark Casse was responsible for two champions as Kentucky Derby favourite Classic Empire took the two-year-old male award after his Breeders’ Cup Juvenile triumph; Bob Baffert also had two winners, with Drefong topping the sprint category to join Arrogate.Rawnaq, formerly trained in both Britain and Ireland, was voted champion steeplechase horse after a season in which he won the American Grand National Hurdle under Ruby Walsh.
Thanks to the exploits of Arrogate, Khalid Abdullah’s Juddmonte operation was named leading owner while Chad Brown, who trained Flintshire, won his first title as outstanding trainer.
Brown also topped the prize-money list for the first time in 2016 to confirm his rise to the top of the training ladder. Javier Castellano extended his winning streak among jockeys to four. Other human awards went to WinStar Farm (breeder) and Chad Luis Ocasio (apprentice jockey).
A special Eclipse Award of Merit for lifetime achievement was presented to journalists Andrew Beyer and Steven Crist.
Finest City (Ian Kruljac/Mike Smith), voted champion female sprinter after her Breeders’ Cup victory, kicked off her 2017 campaign with an impressive victory in the Grade 2 Santa Monica at Santa Anita on Saturday.
Horse of the Year: California Chrome
Older dirt male: California Chrome
Older dirt female: Beholder
Three-year-old Male: Arrogate
Three-year-old Filly: Songbird
Two-year-old Male: Classic Empire
Two-year-old Filly: Champagne Room
Male sprinter: Drefong
Female sprinter: Finest City
Male turf horse: Flintshire
Female turf horse: Tepin
Steeplechase horse: Rawnaq
Owner: Juddmonte Farms
Breeder: WinStar Farm LLC
Jockey: Javier Castellano
Apprentice jockey: Luis Ocasio
Trainer: Chad Brown
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America: Sorteggiati gli steccati della Pegasus World Cup, California parte con il 12, Arrogate dall’1. Diretta anche in Italia
California Chrome è uno che se l’è sempre dovuta sudare la pagnotta. E sarà così anche nell’ultimo appuntamento della sua carriera. Lunedì notte sono stati resi noti gli schieramenti ufficiali per la disputa della prima edizione della Pegasus World Cup G1 da $12 milioni in palio, che verrà concessa live anche da At The Races e straordinariamente anche dai canali italiani sul 220 di Sky sabato notte intorno alle 00 ora italiana.
Il favorito dell’antepost partirà da uno scomodo stallo 12, all’esterno di tutti, mentre il suo rivale più accreditato, il controfavorito (nonostante ad inizio betting fosse lui favorito) Arrogate, partirà dall’1 di steccato. Opposti, lontani, ma molto vicini nel doversi curare. Il commento di Art Sherman è stato questo all’estrazione del numeretto: “Oh Gosh, here we go again!” letteramente “ci risiamo!”. Ma poi non ha cercato scuse, dicendo di sperare in una buona partenza che possa farlo andare vicino allo stecco in pochi metri.
Numeraccio, non c’è che dire, e pensare che, secondo quanto ricordano le cronache locali, in questa stagione a Gulfstream nessun cavallo con uno steccato oltre il 7 ha mai vinto su distanze superiori al miglio da quando poi il raggio della curva è stato esteso nel 2006. Si ma Chrome è Chrome, non è uno qualsiasi. Certo che uno steccato del genere fa pensare ad un duello anticipato tra lui ed Arrogate, il giovane, che partirà dall’interno. Si scatenerà subito la bagarre? Non lo sappiamo, sappiamo solo che al sorteggio ci sono state varie dichiarazioni: Sempre Sherman ha detto che gli sarebbe piaciuto allenarlo ancora un anno, perchè migliora sempre e si è sorpreso di come ogni lavoro tocchi dei picchi ancora più alti. Bob Baffert ha elogiato il Pegasus creator Frank Stronach per il concetto che ha rivitalizzato “the moribund US winter scene”, che dice tutto praticamente. Tra le novità c’è quella anticipata ieri, con Gun Runner ufficialmente ritirato a causa di analisi sballate, ma a sostituirlo un campo partenti assolutamente degno con 6 vincitori di G1 in pista. In caso di inconvenienti ci sono 3 riserve pronte a subentrare: Stanford in caso non corra Arrogate, Sea Raven in caso non corra Breaking Lucky e Madefromlucky in caso non corra California Chrome. Ma sono tutti dubbi dell’ultim’ora, al momento non previsti. Qui sotto ecco il campo partenti definitivo con i cavalli ordinati per numero di steccato, nome, monta e quota del morning-line.
PEGASUS WORLD CUP G1 – $12 milioni
1 Arrogate Mike Smith 7-5
2 Prayer For Relief Florent Geroux 50-1
3 Neolithic John Velazquez 30-1
4 Noble Bird Julien Leparoux 25-1
5 War Story Antonio Gallardo 50-1
6 War Envoy Luis Saez 50-1
7 Shaman Ghost Jose Ortiz 20-1
8 Semper Fortis Tyler Gaffalione 50-1
9 Keen Ice Javier Castellano 12-1
10 Breaking Lucky Luis Contreras 25-1
11 Eragon Edgar Prado 50-1
12 California Chrome Victor Espinoza 6-5
PUBBLICATO DA GABRIELE CANDI A MARTEDÌ, GENNAIO 24, 2017
Arrogate Celebrated as Longines World’s Best Racehorse
Juddmonte Farms’ Arrogate was bestowed with the accolade of 2016 Longines World’s Best Racehorse at a glittering ceremony in London Jan. 24. The 4-year-old colt, trained by Bob Baffert, prevailed over California Chrome and the Australian mare, Winx, for an award determined strictly on racing merit.
A delighted Baffert was present to collect the award, as he had been 12 months earlier when American Pharoah won the same accolade.
“Having the Longines World’s Best Racehorse is quite an honor,” he said. “After getting it last year with American Pharoah, I know what kind of presence Longines has in racing. It is a huge honor to get this award two years in a row.”
Bred in Kentucky by Clearsky Farms, Arrogate earned a rating of 134 by a panel of handicappers who gathered under the auspices of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities. His half-length defeat of California Chrome in the Nov. 6 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) saw him rated one pound ahead of California Chrome, with Winx, an eight-length repeat winner of Australia’s premier weight-for-age race, the William Hill Cox Plate (G1), rated one further back with 132.
Connections of all three horses were on hand to accept commemorative gifts from Longines.
Tangentially, Arrogate’s Breeders’ Cup Classic triumph helped to propel the 10-furlong contest into first place among the world’s elite races. At 125 1/4, the Classic accrued the highest average rating combining the first four horses to finish (Arrogate, California Chrome, Keen Ice, and the Baffert-trained Hoppertunity). This placed it a half-point ahead of a three-way tie for second place, which was shared by the QIPCO Irish Champion Stakes (G1), the $1 Million TVG Pacific Classic (G1) and the Cox Plate.
Craig Fravel, president and CEO of the Breeders’ Cup, was on hand to pay his own tribute.
“Arrogate showed all of us what he was made of in the Breeders’ Cup Classic,” he reflected. “That is what this horserace is intended to do—identify champions.”
Behind Scenes of Arrogate’s World’s Best Ranking
There was a celebratory mood among invited guests at Claridge’s Hotel, a London landmark. In their number was Her Majesty the Queen’s grandson Peter Phillips, brother of Zara, who was part of the Great Britain equestrian eventing team that won the silver medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
Baffert, for his part, was generous toward the horses vanquished by Arrogate.
“It was special to beat a horse like California Chrome (in the Classic), who has beaten me more times than I have beaten him,” he said.
A Q&A With Juddmonte Farms’ Teddy Grimthorpe
And after seeing footage of Winx winning her 13th straight race in the Cox Plate, he added: “This Winx —what a racemare she is.”
Although disappointed, Winx’s co-owner Debbie Kepitis, was visibly moved during the ceremony.
“Winx is very special,” she said before her emotions engulfed her. “I’m sorry, I’m lost for words. It’s amazing to have our wonderful horse recognized like this.”
Trainer Chris Waller was equally proud.
“The pinnacle would be for Winx to win a third Cox Plate, and after that, we will take her onto the world stage.”
He then quipped: “I guess we’ve got to race her on dirt to try and win the Breeders’ Cup Classic if we want to be the best horse in the world.”
Consolation for Winx’s connections is that she closed 2016 as the high-rated turf horse in the world, and the high-rated filly or mare.
Kelly Martin, daughter of California Chrome’s co-breeder and co-owner, Perry Martin, paid heartfelt tribute to the 6-year-old.
“He has taken us on a wild ride,” she said of the chestnut. “My personal favorite memory was when he won the Dubai World Cup (G1, Sponsored by Emirates Airline, in March). It took my breath away; it blew my mind.”
Baffert was visiting London for the first time 12 months ago. He fell in love with the city, and confided that an abiding ambition was for him to ride in one of the Royal Carriages that make their way down the home straight before racing at Royal Ascot every day.
“That would be big,” he said. “I watched Ascot on television last year and enjoyed that procession most of all.”
Arrogate Named 2016 Longines World’s Best Racehorse
Among the garlands handed out to Baffert was a Longines watch; he had received another after American Pharoah won the Preakness Stakes (G1) in 2015.
“It was raining that day and the cases were open for the presentation ceremony,” he reflected. “The next time I opened it, the case had got moldy. I had to throw it away.”
But don’t be tempted to feel too sorry for Baffert. Juan-Carlos Capelli, vice president of Longines, teased Baffert from the presentation podium: “I’m thinking: ‘How many watches do you have now?’ Enough to open your own shop.”
After finishing third in his debut in April last year, Arrogate (Unbridled’s Song—Bubbler, By Distorted Humor ) won his next five starts, among them the Travers Stakes (G1) by 13 1/2 lengths in track record time. He races in the green, pink, and white silks of Prince Khalid Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, who has also campaigned a pair of iconic European turf horses in Dancing Brave and Frankel.
A $560,000 yearling purchase from the 2014 Keeneland September yearling sale, Arrogate will square off with California Chrome again on Saturday in the inaugural Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1). Arrogate is expected to close his racing career after a repeat bid for the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar in November.
fonte : Bloodhorse.com
Arrogate, California Chrome Meet Again in Pegasus
In many ways the entries alone mark an early “mission accomplished” for the first edition of the $12 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) as the world’s richest race set for Jan. 28 at Gulfstream Park has attracted the world’s two top dirt horses in training in California Chrome and Arrogate.
Both standout horses picked up hardware for their connections at the Eclipse Awards Jan. 21 as Arrogate was named champion 3-year-old male and California Chrome secured the Horse of the Year honor along with the champion older dirt male trophy. While the chestnut picked up the night’s top honor based on a spectacular overall season, Arrogate scored a victory in the one race where the two met last year when he surged past California Chrome in deep stretch to win the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) in November at Santa Anita Park.
The 2016 Breeders’ Cup Classic was the most lucrative race ever conducted in North America, but the Pegasus will quickly rewrite the record book as North America’s—and the world’s—richest race, surpassing the $10 million Dubai World Cup sponsored by Emirates Airline (G1) in the latter category.
California Chrome, the 6-5 morning-line favorite in the Pegasus, will start from the outside in the field of 12 while Arrogate, the 7-5 second choice, will start from the rail.
“We can’t make any excuses,” California Chrome’s trainer Art Sherman said of the outside draw. “The only good thing I thought about this is that he doesn’t have to be in the starting gate long.”
According to BRISnet.com stats, since the track was reconfigured in 2006 horses who have started from post 12 in 1 1/8-mile races are 1-for-18.
“Chrome is Chrome; he’s got tactical speed,” Sherman said. “I was hoping that we would get closer inside. He will overcome all this, believe me.”
Campaigned by co-breeder Perry Martin and Taylor Made Farm, California Chrome won the 2016 Dubai World Cup, an effort that helped him become the top earner in North American racing history at $14.5 million. A victory Saturday in what is scheduled to be the final time Sherman sends out the two-time Horse of the Year would make the 6-year-old son of Lucky Pulpit the world’s top earner as he would surpass the $19,005,276 collected by Japan’s 2011 Horse of the Year Orfevre.
Juddmonte Farms’ Arrogate shattered records in his stakes debut when he won the Travers Stakes (G1) in track-record time of 1:59.36 for 1 1/4 miles to score a 13 1/2-length victory at Saratoga Race Course. After taking the summer’s top 1 1/4-mile race for 3-year-olds, the son of Unbridled’s Song improved to 2-for-2 at the distance when he won the Breeders’ Cup Classic and gave his trainer, Bob Baffert, a third straight victory in the race following triumphs by Bayern in 2014 (where California Chrome finished third) and American Pharoah in 2015.
Baffert liked the way Arrogate looked in his final serious work before the Pegasus, when he completed six furlongs in 1:12.13 Jan. 21 on a sealed Santa Anita track listed as “wet-fast.”
“He’s getting stronger every week. I wanted to see what I saw today and he’s ready for the big race,” Baffert said after the move. “Now we have to ship and there’s more hurdles, but I love the way he’s training. This horse is so fit. He’s ready for the challenge.”
The Pegasus will see the two champions shorten up a furlong from their Breeders’ Cup Classic efforts. California Chrome has won two of his four dirt starts at the 1 1/8-mile distance with victories in last year’s Awesome Again Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita and a dominating performance there in the 2014 Santa Anita Derby (G1), which set him up for a pair of classic victories.
Arrogate will try the distance for the first time but the five-race win streak he’ll carry into the Pegasus includes the two 10-furlong scores as well as three straight wins at 1 1/16 miles in maiden and allowance tests in Southern California.
Both Southern California-based horses will be starting at Gulfstream for the first time. California Chrome will be making his first start since closing 2016 with a 12-length waltz to victory in the Winter Challenge Stakes at Los Alamitos Race Course. Arrogate will be making his first start since Breeders’ Cup as he was scratched from a planned start in the Jan. 1 San Pasqual Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita because of track conditions after rain fell in the days before that race.
Both Arrogate and California Chrome will figure prominently when the Longines World’s Best Racehorse is announced Jan. 24. The Pegasus’ landing racing’s top two dirt horses in the world recalls the inaugural edition of the Dubai World Cup that attracted Cigar, who fueled a rousing debut to the race in 1996 when he extended his win streak to 14 under the lights at Nad al Sheba.
To help fund the Pegasus purse, The Stronach Group devised a plan in which stakeholders have put up $1 million each for one of the race’s 12 starting slots. That approach has helped ensure full entries in the inaugural Pegasus, despite the presence of Arrogate and California Chrome.
“It’s going to be a great race,” said Frank Stronach at the draw. The race is scheduled to be aired during a 4:30 to 6 p.m. broadcast on NBC.
Baffert thanked the Stronach Group for putting the race together and bringing some added excitement to the racing calendar.
“I think it’s thinking out of the box. It couldn’t have come at a better year when you’ve got the No.1 and No. 2 horses hooked up together,” Baffert said. “It’s very rare that you’ll get that type of a matchup. It’s like a Breeders’ Cup all over again.
“At this time of the year it’s usually really quiet, usually we’re just getting our horses ready for the spring and summer. I think everybody is going to be watching. The $12 million catches a lot of people’s attention. This is Frank Stronach’s dream and I’m proud of being part of it.”
On paper, a horse will have to jump up quite a bit to compete with the top two. In the Breeders’ Cup Classic, California Chrome finished 10 3/4 lengths ahead of third-place finisher Keen Ice, who will try to improve in the Pegasus.
Still, it is an accomplished field scheduled to fill the Gulfstream starting gate.
The Pegasus entries include six grade/group 1 winners in Arrogate, California Chrome, Eragon, Keen Ice, Noble Bird, and Shaman Ghost. That is just one less than the seven grade 1/group 1 winners going into last year’s Dubai World Cup of California Chrome, Hoppertunity, Special Fighter, Frosted, Mshawish, Keen Ice, and Hokko Tarumae.
One horse who will not start is Clark Handicap (G1) winner Gun Runner, who had been considered for the race but was not entered after training under a quarantine at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, which on Jan. 22 lifted its quarantine for unaffected barns after an EHV-I outbreak. Gulfstream officials said Jan. 22 that Gun Runner had not completed the testing requirements to ship into the track.
The Ruis Racing slot that Gun Runner had reached a deal for, is filled by Ruis Racing’s War Envoy.
Keen Ice, the third morning-line choice at 12-1, already has pulled off one big upset as he rallied past Triple Crown winner American Pharoah to win the 2015 Travers Stakes.
Noble Bird certainly is capable of a huge effort as the 6-year-old son of Birdstone won the 2015 Stephen Foster Handicap (G1) at Churchill Downs and set a track record at the Pegasus distance in taking last year’s Hagyard Fayette Stakes (G2) at Keeneland.
A Canadian champion and classic winner in 2015 in Canada, Shaman Ghost registered a strong 4-year-old season last year with wins in the Brooklyn Invitational (G2) and Woodward (G1) stakes.
Breaking Lucky secured a Canadian classic in 2015 and Eragon will try for the upset in his U.S. debut after winning three group 1 stakes in Argentina in 2015 and 2016.
Still the majority of focus will be on the Arrogate-California Chrome rematch; two talents that will leave little time for blinking.
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Pegasus Entries
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| Post Position | Horse (Sire) | Owner | Stakeholder |
| 1 | Arrogate (Unbridled’s Song) |
Juddmonte Farm | Coolmore Stud |
| 2 | Prayer for Relief (Jump Start) |
Zayat Stables | Rosedown Racing Stables (Jeff Weiss) |
| 3 | Neolithic (Harlan’s Holiday) |
Starlight Racing | Starlight Racing |
| 4 | Noble Bird (Birdstone) |
John Oxley | Earle Mack, Moustapha Fostock, and Chester Broman Sr. |
| 5 | War Story (Northern Afleet) |
Loooch Racing Stables and partners | Dan Schafer |
| 6 | War Envoy (War Front) |
Ruis Racing | Ruis Racing |
| 7 | Shaman Ghost (Ghostzapper) | Stronach Stables | Stronach Stables |
| 8 | Semper Fortis (Distorted Humor) |
Reddam Racing | Reddam Racing |
| 9 | Keen Ice (Curlin) |
Donegal Racing | Jerry and Ronnie Frankel |
| 10 | Breaking Lucky (Lookin At Lucky) |
Gunpowder Farms, West Point Thoroughbreds, and Reeves Thoroughbred Racing | Reeves Thoroughbred Racing |
| 11 | Eragon (Offlee Wild) |
Jim McIngvale | Jim McIngvale |
| 12 | California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit) |
California Chrome LLC | California Chrome LLC |
