Arthur’s Ride seeks Whitney-Jockey Club Gold Cup double

news7g4 days ago

1 3 minutes read

Arthur's Ride seeks Whitney-Jockey Club Gold Cup double

The $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes (G1) on September 1 at Saratoga Race Track always on the calendar for Arthur’s Journey .

It was the Whitney Stakes (G1) that could be heard making a noise leading to a ball touch.

Jumped from 12 3/4 lengths in an optional mile and a quarter claim at Saratoga to Whitney Aug. 3 at Spa, son of Glassman Racing Water tap came to the front and kept driving until he crossed the finish line 2 1/4 lengths ahead. Kangaroo on a muddy track and upset the old dirt men’s category.

Now to the original target, the Jockey Club Gold Cup at 1 1/4 miles, which seemed ideal for the fast racehorse bred by Helen and Joseph Barbazon of the Tapit Syndicate.

A win on Saratoga weekend would make Arthur’s Ride the first winner of the Whitney and Jockey Club Gold Cup in the same year since Colonial Affair in 1994.

“We always thought he had the ability to be a good horse and he showed that in the Whitney race,” said trainer Bill Mott. “We just hope he can replicate that performance in the Gold Cup.”

Whitney ended a five-race run for Arthur’s Ride with four wins. Whitney was making his debut for the Point Given mare Points of Grace and the only incident in the race, dating back to February 11, 2023, was the ninth over a muddy, sealed track on May 3 at Churchill Downs.

The Jockey Club Gold Cup is part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series and will award the winner a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) on November 2, fees paid. Del Mar. That’s not a concern for Arthur’s Ride, however, which has already earned a starting spot to win the Whitney, another Challenge Series race, and will be headed to the $7 million Classic if all goes well on Sunday.

“We’ve paid our entry fees so the Breeders’ Cup is definitely a consideration,” said Mott, a four-time Jockey Club Gold Cup winner.

Purchased for $250,000 by broker Donato Lanni from the Gainesway consignment at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Horse Market, Arthur’s Ride earned $764,955.

Todd Pletcher will send out a duo Bright future And Tapit Trice in their bid for back-to-back wins at the 106th JC Gold Cup.

Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables’ Bright Future won the 2023 Gold Cup then finished sixth in the 1 1/4-mile Breeders’ Cup Classic.

He began 2024 with a win in the Salvator Mile Stakes (G3) on June 15 at Monmouth Park but later tested eighth on a wet track at Whitney. Pletcher said he would put blinkers on his 5-year-old son. Curlin for the race on Sunday.

“Bright Future won this race last year but didn’t fire at Whitney. (Javier Castellano) seemed to think he couldn’t handle the track,” Pletcher said. “He came back with some light winds. Hopefully we can get him on a fast track and he can get back to his performance from last year. He seemed a little more focused with the blinkers.”

Whisper Hill Farm and Gainesway Stable’s Tapit Trice is one of the best 3-year-olds of 2023, winning the Blue Grass Stakes (G1) and finishing third in both the Belmont Stakes (G1) and Travers Stakes (G1).

The son of Tapit returned after an 11-month absence with a 5 1/4-length win in the Monmouth Cup Stakes (G3).

“I was delighted with Tapit Trice’s comeback win at Monmouth and he’s been training really well for this win,” said Pletcher, who is looking for his third Jockey Club Gold Cup win. “A mile and a half would suit him.”

Field seven also includes Blue Heaven Farm’s homebreast Pyrenees a son of Into mischief who finished second in the Stephen Foster Stakes (G1) at Churchill Downs and won the Pimlico Special Stakes (G3) in his last two outings for trainer Cherie DeVaux.