After a relative quiet Triple Crown season, it appears that trainer Bob Baffert could be ready for a big second half of the year thanks to a three-year-old colt named Arrogate. A son of Unbridled’s Song out of the Distorted Humor mare Bubbler, Arrogate stamped himself as a horse to watch with a powerful win in an 8.5-furlong allowance race on June 24th at Santa Anita.
Coming off of a convincing 4 1/2-length win in a Santa Anita maiden special weight on June 24th, for which he earned a 96 Beyer speed figure, Arrogate was sent off as the 3-5 favorite on Friday and more than lived up to expectations. With Rafael Bejarano in the saddle, Arrogate dueled for the early lead with Chief of Staff through fractions of :23.62 and :47.17, then took command through six furlongs in 1:10.72 and pulled clear under a hand ride in the homestretch to win by a decisive 5 1/4 lengths in the sharp time of 1:41.14 seconds.
With two straight impressive wins under his belt, Arrogate will head east for his next start, with handicapper Jeff Siegel reporting on Twitter that the Breeders’ Cup Classic is the ultimate goal. In the meantime, a race like the Jim Dandy Stakes (gr. II) at Saratoga could mark Arrogate’s next race. The colt is owned by Juddmonte Farms and was purchased for $560,000 at the 2014 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
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