[QUOTE=Zevida;8923057]
I wanted Chrome to win so much! I was convinced Arrogate’s Travers was a fluke, but clearly I was wrong. What a match-up between those two. I hope Arrogate stays in training and runs next year.[/QUOTE]
Sounds like the current plan is to run Arrogate as a 4 year old. Will be interesting to see how he starts to mature. You can really see the difference between 3 and 5 when you compare Arrogate with Chrome.
I wanted Chrome to win too, but I was looking forward to Arrogate after he showed such incredible ability. I was afraid he might win.
It is silly to second guess a race and engage in what ifs, but… I did wonder if Chrome had not had blinkers on and had seen Arrogate coming, if he would have, or could have, geared up a bit earlier. I’m not sure he could have beaten Arrogate but I think he could have pressed him harder if he had an inkling Arrogate was coming.
Beholder retired and going on a date with Uncle Mo.
http://www.paulickreport.com/news/bloodstock/beholder-bred-uncle-mo-2017/
[QUOTE=danceronice;8922782]
I don’t think he’s especially good-looking now, especially next to Chrome (until they keep one in racing until he’s a horse, it’s easy to forget how immature three-year-olds really are). But he’s not even close to being done growing if Baffert waited that long (he’s not someone afraid to run two-year-olds.) And he has a funny face. Sometimes they roan out funny…[/QUOTE]
Thus my comment, in my earlier post, that he is only a 3 year old and will be a beast when he matures. 
When I mentioned thinking he was a great looking colt I was thinking of his form and his movement, not his face or his color.
More post BC “fallout”.
Lady Eli, Stellar Wind out of Keeneland Breeding Stock (there were a few more but BloodHorse seems to be having a “moment” and the link is currently not working.
About Arrogate having a “funny face,” that was always my first thought on seeing pictures of Rachel Alexandra. I wanted to get some white paint and finish that blaze for her. Arrogate may have a lopsided splotch, but at least it isn’t interrupted. :lol: All of which I realize has absolutely nothing to do with their abilities as racehorses, but hey, people are allowed to have illogical reactions to horses, be they positive or negative. I have always thought that a part of Chrome’s appeal to so many masses outside racing is related to the chrome.
I noticed that Songbird has that same “interrupted” stripe as Rachel.
[QUOTE=Where’sMyWhite;8923738]
More post BC “fallout”.
Lady Eli, Stellar Wind out of Keeneland Breeding Stock (there were a few more but BloodHorse seems to be having a “moment” and the link is currently not working.[/QUOTE]
The bad thing about the sale entry date being so early (August 1) is that you have all these mares entered just in case something bad happens and they have to retire, ect. so people (not saying you, just in general) get worked up when they see them in the entries then they scratch around BC time and people get worked up about that. It’s an interesting cycle, especially if they don’t pay attention to the racing news and see weeks in advance that a horse is going to scratch from the sale (both Stellar Wind and Lady Eli’s connections’ in addition to Dacita’s announced they were scratching unless a “what if” scenario happened last month but just confirmed it this weekend). It’s really annoying when they don’t officially list them as outs until the day of a sale or late the afternoon the day before because I hate taking horses off my list until they are listed.
The races this weekend were great. My personal favorites were the Juvie Turf and the Turf for semi-different reasons. I’ve been building up Oscar Performance since his maiden victory so it was nice to not have mud thrown in my face by him losing in the BC, that’s usually the case with my picks.
While Found is one of my favorite mares of all times, I’ve been on Highland Reel since his first race and have watched him grow from a horse who was greener than a bean and didn’t know where his legs were to winning a G1 in a hurricane wannabe at Arlington to yesterday so that was really special. Seamie (his jockey) is also one of the nicest guys you’ll meet only second to Aidan O’Brien so it was lovely to see that team win. Seamie is the Steady Eddie that makes the Ballydoyle wheels turn but is usually relegated to the second or third string (he still gets his fair share of G1s on them) so it’s always nice to see him get a Grade 1. Even cooler is that last year was his first Breeders’ Cup ride after years of riding for the outfit so he got this win in only his second year riding at the Breeders’ Cup. Overall, it was a very good Breeders’ Cup.
I was hoping Found would win the Turf, but I do love it when a horse wings it on the front of a grass race and then keeps on for the win, since it seems they usually get gobbled up by the closers. That was just fun watching Highland Reel take them on a chase like that.
I give Bob lots of props with Arrogate. They took their time with him and let him find his groove on his own, let him mature. It has clearly worked for him as they haven’t pushed him. He is a BIG horse. Watching him next to Chrome in the stretch; he made Chrome look like a track pony. I do hope that Arrogate is not peaking right now and I do hope that we continue to see dominance from him; he is truly gifted even if he is a bit “green”.
I am more upset about Chrome’s loss for Art Sherman. You could just see the defeat in his face. I am not a “chromie” at all; in fact I do not care for the majority of the horse’s connections but Art, I was hoping he’d win it for Art. Can’t deny all that Chrome has won this year, still a tremendous horse for 6 years of age! Have to say though, that Chrome ran one helluva race and really made Arrogate work for it. Thought Victor really rode a crappy race. He got too cocky out there. Thought that Chrome setting the slower pace in the opening 1/2 with Arrogate just behind him cost Chrome the race, not too mention the amount of looking around Victor did at the top of the stretch. If you’re going to go out front and set a slow pace in the opening 1/2, make sure Arrogate isn’t just lumbering just behind you; we all know he’s got plenty of gas in the tank.
Nice to see Keen Ice finish up in third even if he was 10 lengths behind them .
Happy for Bob and team to get rewarded for truly taking the time with their horse but by no means did Arrogate run away with this win and Team Chrome cant be ashamed of that!!
does anyone know what happened to Win the Space who DNF in the classic? Was he just eased and never finished?
[QUOTE=snaffle1987;8924051]
does anyone know what happened to Win the Space who DNF in the classic? Was he just eased and never finished?[/QUOTE]
Chart says eased in final furlong and walked off. Didn’t find any further report.
http://mobile.equibase.com/View.cfm/ResultsRace?t=SA&c=USA&n=12&d=2016-11-05&s=D
[QUOTE=Vivace;8923418]
Beholder retired and going on a date with Uncle Mo.
http://www.paulickreport.com/news/bloodstock/beholder-bred-uncle-mo-2017/[/QUOTE]
Sad to see her go, she is my current favorite. But I am glad that she went out in good form.
[QUOTE=snaffle1987;8924048]
Happy for Bob and team to get rewarded for truly taking the time with their horse but by no means did Arrogate run away with this win and Team Chrome cant be ashamed of that!![/QUOTE]
Oh, he definitely didn’t. On examination, I realized I’d forgotten Chrome was spotting him four pounds, meaning if the old weight/distance rules are at all accurate equal horses would have finished with the lighter weight a lenghth and a half in front (he didn’t have to travel THAT much farther.) I’m kind of surprised that anyone is seriously proposing Arrogate as Horse of the Year at this point–either he OR Chrome would have won by 10 without the other, and the campaigns just don’t compare. Chrome’s only loss was this one, all but one of his starts was graded/group 1 or 2 and the other was a Meydan handicap, not an Allowance, compared to three AOCs and two MSW (the one Arrogate lost was at Los Al, and the one he won had four other horses, all of whom are still maidens six months later.) Arrogate’s the best 3yo male, which for once I’m willing to acknowledge probably should be modified with “of a weak crop” (really, other than Arrogate and Songbird, there are no stars, and the only other notables are fillies.) But HOTY? Come back next year. And the year after that, too, I want to see what he looks like when he’s as mature as Chrome is now. Arrogate is going to be a HUUUUUUUGE boy when he finishes growing.
Also, Chrome’s five. Which is rather odd for an intact stallion with multiple G1 wins. Lots of older horses running this year, and they even withdrew some of the older mares from the Keenland sale–Stellar Wind and Lady Eli are coming back next year. Found’s going to Coolmore, though–all the question now is “will her date be with American Pharoah?” I find it kind of funny they picked Uncle Mo for Beholder, though–he didn’t have any winners this weekend. A friend pointed out, though–guess who DIDN’T have anyone hit the board in the BC races this weekend (not counting undercard)? Who stands for $300,000? Tapit didn’t have a single winner or even on the bottom of tickets. (A Tapit won the marathon, but that’s not a BC race any more.)
I think a lot of the Tapit’s have yet to come. Yes he didn’t have any in the races this weekend but I think Tapit is just starting to come into his own right now (which is why you see so much demand for his youngsters right now).
I am scratching my head a bit on the Uncle MO and Beholder match up but time will tell. Beholder is a very gritty mare and I hope she passes that on.
Galileo on the other hand. impressive stallion for sure!
Uh…Tapit’s the leading money-earning sire for the last three years with eleven crops, nine of racing age. Frosted is four and a Tapit. His best son (Testa Matta, who raced in Japan, hence the HUGE money earned) is retired, as is good 2yo, meh 3yo Hansen. He had offspring all over this weekend, but none made money. Sweet Loretta was ninth in the J.Fillies, I think his best finish was a sixth for Frosted. OTOH, if you’re just going to sell the yearling the $300k is a good investment since his yearlings can sell for a crapton. But you can get a good Pulpit son as a sire way, way cheaper. Heck, I’d scrounge $110k for Pioneerof the Nile before that…
[QUOTE=gotpaints;8923830]
if they don’t pay attention to the racing news and see weeks in advance that a horse is going to scratch from the sale (both Stellar Wind and Lady Eli’s connections’ in addition to Dacita’s announced they were scratching unless a “what if” scenario happened last month but just confirmed it this weekend). It’s really annoying when they don’t officially list them as outs until the day of a sale or late the afternoon the day before because I hate taking horses off my list until they are listed.[/QUOTE]
I must have missed the rumors that Stellar Wind and Lady Eli would be pulled unless Keeneland asked them to be left in until the last minute for the “hype”. I get entering them in the event they retire early unless you are really wanting to go for the cr*pshoot that you don’t know for sure until after BC. Can you supplement the “right” horse to this sale say, a few weeks before?
I was rooting for Found but more than impressed with Highland Reel.
And the smokin’ early fractions in some of the shorter turf races! I’m surprised the grass didn’t catch on fire
I would agree that Chrome’s markings are part of his attraction…
Pegasus will be interesting for sure.
I realize my opinion is not the popular one, but I was rooting for Arrogate all the way. I love his looks, correct conformation, and gorgeous long stride. It’s a shame that many of the fans (not on this site) cannot appreciate him since he beat their beloved Chrome. They don’t realize it’s ok to like more than one horse. 
I congratulate Chrome on his brilliant run, but IMO his team became way too cocky. I have always liked Art Sherman, but even he had changed. Read his comments pre-Breeders Cup…
Victor has become absolutely insufferable and disrespectful, between posing on Zenyatta’s statue, trash talking about Baffert to the media, putting down the Triple Crown winner because he had a falling out with the team, etc.
I think Chrome is a fantastic racehorse and I wish him the best, as always.
Arrogate is a bright light after losing Shared Belief (who, I still believe, was the most talented horse from that 2011 crop). I am glad Mike has another male horse superstar…he deserves all the success in the world.
I really don’t see the alleged Chrome fans hating on Arrogate. I see a lot of ‘what have you done for me lately’ people actually touting Arrogate for HOTY, which is bizarre. Take a breath: he’s a gangly late-blooming three year old in the first crop in years that actually deserves to be called weak or light (the early classic winners this year…the best you can say came out of the TC this year was Gun Runner), whose only two notable wins are one age-restricted stakes against said light crop and by a neck to an older horse giving him four pounds.
There’s a lot less Chrome-fan hate on Arrogate (I don’t hate him, he just hasn’t done enough yet for me to climb on his bandwagon–if he runs the next year or so and wins more unrestricted G1s without weight-for-age advantage and stays sound, okay, but he’s an Unbridled’s Song so I’m not holding my breath on that last and can’t blame Baffert for going at glacial speed with him, and hey, he was slightly a bigger payout) than there are people who have this irrational hangup about Chrome’s “connections” or who want to call a neck victory a blowout. (If I can cheer for Middle Eastern potentates’s horses, I can handle just about anything.) Take four pounds off Chrome or add four to Arrogate and the 1-2 results flip. And either way, they were BOTH still ten in front of everything else. I’m kind of torn whether Found should have tried dirt after all, or if either way she’d have wound up way back chasing a huge gap…
Awesome 2 days of racing all around. I was routing for Songbird in the Distaff, and Chrome in the Classic. They may not have had their nose in front at the wire but what awesome races they both ran. Wow.
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