Eight starts, 7 wins, and one show earning $17 million is absolutely remarkable. Can’t say he hasn’t faced any competition because he has humiliated some high class colts. Don’t know if real comparisons can be made with other champions, but at this point does it matter? Unbridled Song over a Distorted Humor mare, nice but no show stopping pedigree. $500K purchase. What are the odds?
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I am personally not fond of comparing horses from different eras as racing, even subtly, over time changes… track surfaces, feed, training, meds and med rules, etc.
A most impressive win by Arrogate. BB must have been laying an egg when Arrogate didn’t break well. To watch Arrogate take his time to get rolling and then just cruise on by Gun Runner was pretty nice to watch.
Very nice win and effort by Gun Runner. A very respectable finish to a very nice winner.
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Gun Runner really held on. That took guts. Arrogate did a great job coming from behind all that traffic!
Keen Ice, sigh.
I wish they had more than one camera angle. I was kicking myself for not betting when I saw Arrogate break bad, and then it looked like Mike was going to get hung 7 wide around the far turn. I stopped watching for him after that, and when he went bowing by the horse in 3rd I was thinking, “Where’d he come from?”
It wasn’t until I watched the replay that saw his move on the turn. A head on view would have been great. If there is one and I could not find it, please post!
A variation of drunken houseguests!
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There’s no doubting Arrogate is the real deal. Impressive.
But is anyone else a bit irked that one can now achieve the title of richest North American runner of all time in a mere 8 starts? John Henry is rolling over in his grave…
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You could compare earnings adjusted for inflation.
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@vineyridge I understand inflation. But an 8 start career putting you in the earnings record book is a little bonkers IMO. It’s these ultra-rich races. BC came first offering a huge purse, then DWC had to top it, and now the Pegasus. And Arrogate was lucky enough to grab all three mega purses.
The John Henry part was a joke, given the dramatic difference in the careers between the two horses who held the title at one time.
Yes, I understand this reference I’m very emabarrassed…
I told get her own gd sign in an stay off mine.
I do apologize. I still learniing about those great horses then.
but she is teaching me. we were so x-cited about cup. so she came here.
I am new here, and do not need this kind of tarring!
she drinks abit, yes. what can say I love her
No worries Brigid, we all have our favorites and tend to defend them passionately at times. That’s ok. Can’t say I agree with her but that doesn’t matter. Some of the biggest arguments I have seen online have been on the subject of who was better so and so or so and some. This thread is all about appreciating what we witnessed yesterday regardless of where he fits into the all time greats list.
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I’m confused. You are actually two different people? Perhaps English is not your first language? That would explain it.
It was a great race wasn’t it? I agree with Where’sMyWhite. Comparisons between horses that aren’t running in the same race are rather pointless. Interesting to think about comparisons between horses racing today and those that ran in the past,but silly to really argue about them.
They did have a shot of B.B’s face after the break. You could see he was really unhappy.
Lord, I remember when a $100k purse was HUGE money.
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I know everyone is talking about Arrogate; rightly so, the horse is a complete freak of nature. We have never seen a horse since Secretariat with that type of stride and power. Awe inspiring
But can put Arrogate aside for a moment and look at Gun Runner! What a race he had and he never gave up in the stretch! I have always admired that little chestnut, such a consistent, hard trying horse. One of the most consistent runner out on the track in while! I have always been a huge fan of Gun Runner even if he’s always 2nd or 3rd to the others.
Neolithic ran a great race for third too! I always thought he was a one hit wonder with how he did in the Pegasus but he ran a great race too and definitely proved me wrong on his one-hit-wonder status. Another consistent horse who kind of came out of nowhere
thought it was a very exciting, hard fought race for the kind of purse money on the line. It definitely was not a walk in the park for any horse who hit the board.
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And starts were in double and triple digits.
The fan racing experience today is so compressed as to be either an extraordinary experience or of vague consequence. It is like a bowl of fifteen bean soup. The tastiest beans are always the first to be eaten.
A colt earning $17 million in 140 days will be remembered vividly for many decades, possibly centuries, to come while the names of superior horses of racing greatest era won’t make it to the imagination of a scrabble board game. The fact is that Arrogate only raced for the giant purses which weren’t available until the last few decades. Don’t think inflation has much to do with it. Claiming and allowance purses, depending on the tracks, have not changed since the end of WWII. These souped up graded purses may hasten racing’s demise. Connections surrounding a small percentage of trainers like Baffert, Pletcher, Brown, Lukas, Mott, Hollendorper, etc reap the rewards as the greater part of the game struggles to keep the lights on.
If Arrogate is the second coming or greater than Secretariat or Man o’War, I hope he runs until he is in his teens. That would be the real story.
I had posted a very similar statement on another forum I belong to.
Ive always like GR & thought this really showed how good he is. He’s such a hard trying little horse.
While many won’t agree with me, I’m still not ready to label Arrogate as “Great” just yet.
Yes he has showed up everytime & ran some really nice races, but take away the inflated purse earnings & he becomes a GOOD horse.
He still is a very lightly raced horse that has run on a fairly cushy schedule.
Now before you all jump down my throat, I’m NOT saying he isn’t something special & he sure is fun to watch. He just hasn’t reached greatness yet.
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Neat video of Mike Smith taking a treat to Arrogate. Must say, Arrogate is quite mannerly with his treat.
https://www.facebook.com/breederscup/videos/10155234441220929/?hc_ref=PAGES_TIMELINE
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I’ve never fallen in love with Arrogate, but there’s no way anyone can claim he’s had a cushy schedule. He is lightly raced, but the four G1s he has won are four spectacular races with real competition.
I wonder how many more times we’ll see him - twice, maybe? Pacific Classic and BC Classic. The way they are spacing his races, you’d have to look for something in June for him other than that, and there’s not really anything big enough. Unless they did something crazy and went for the Met Mile.
Here’s an interesting take on Arrogate. Doesn’t think we’ll ever see Arrogate run at 12f which eliminates comparisons to the greats like Seattle Slew, Affirmed, Secretariat, etc. and imo it is dicey to make comparisons to that era of racing because many of the greats, including the great handicap horses, carried substantial weight above 126 lbs.
https://thederbyhandicapper.com/2017…e-secretariat/
Don’t know if John Henry, Forego, Kelso, or Spectacular Bid, just to name a few, are suffering heavenenly aggravation over the amount of public attention Arrogate is getting but I am sure their conversations are pretty animated on the subject.
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What I have admired about Arrogate is that he’s won on a few different track conditions… dry, wet, etc.
If I were BB I’m not sure I’d want him in the Met Mile… distance might be too short for him and how he likes to get rolling late. Would, for sure, be interesting to see him at 12f to see how he stacks up at least against current competition.
