Arthur’s Ride, impressive winner of the Whitney in his Grade 1 debut, looks to add to his resume as he heads a field of seven in the $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) on Sunday at Saratoga Race Course.
A “Win and You’re In” race for the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), a victory in the 1 ¼ mile Jockey Club Gold Cup would be the fifth for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, who captured the race with Hall of Famer Cigar [1995], Flat Out [2012], Ron the Greek [2013] and Olympiad [2022].
Arthur’s Ride. Coglianese Photo
Arthur’s Ride Seeks a Whitney-JCGC Double
“He’s had four weeks in between. We are hoping he has had enough time in between,” said Mott of Arthur’s Pride, who on June 7 was a 12 ¾-length winner of an optional claimer. “He ran a huge race last time and we are hoping he can fire back that same shot.”
Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher will be represented by defending champion Bright Future, a disappointing eighth in the Whitney, and Tapit Trice, who drew off by 5 1/4 lengths in the 9-furlong Monmouth Cup (G3) on July 20.
“Unfortunately, Bright Future didn’t fire in the Whitney. Javier [Castellano] didn’t seem to think he handled the sealed track,” said Pletcher, who will add blinkers for the race. “Hopefully, he can catch a fast track that he likes and run back to his performance last year.”
Tapit Trice, who won the Blue Grass (G1) last year at Keeneland, took the Monmouth Cup on July 20 in his lone start this year.
“I was very happy with Tapit Trice’s comeback win in the Monmouth Cup and he’s been training exceptionally well for this,” Pletcher said. “I think the mile and a quarter suits him great.”
Pyrenees Aims for Victory After Impressive Runner-Up in Stephen Foster
Pyrenees’ four-race win streak coming off a year layoff ended in May when he finished second to Kingsbarns in the Stephen Foster (G1) at Churchill Downs. Trainer Cherie DeVaux was heartened by his runner-up effort, which earned him a 108 Equibase speed figure.
“It was definitely Grade 1 company and I think he’ll handle a bit more ground,” said DeVaux. “His effort was great and he’s kind of taken everything we’ve thrown at him and stepped up to the occasion, which has been a nice surprise because early in his career he didn’t really act interested in racing. His maturity has kind of kicked in.”
Highland Falls, who comes in off a second to Tapit Trice in the Monmouth Cup, gets a new rider in Flavien Prat. Trained by Brad Cox, the 4-year-old Curlin colt previously won the Blame (G3) at Churchill and was second in the Oaklawn Handicap (G2) in April.
Completing the field are Disarm, from trainer Steve Asmussen, and the Rudy Rodriguez-trained Kuchar, both horses in search of their first graded stakes win.
Castellano was scheduled to ride Bright Future, but the jockey was injured in a spill Friday (sore wrist). He was off his mounts Saturday, and his status remained uncertain for Sunday.
For those who bet horse racing …
The picks: 1 Tapit Trice 2 Pyrenees 3 Arthur’s Ride
The field for the $1 Million Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1), from the rail out, with jockey, trainer, odds:
1 Tapit Trice (Irad Ortiz, Jr., Todd Pletcher), 4-1
2 Kuchar (Luis Saez, Rudy Rodriguez), 30-1
3 Bright Future (Javier Castellano, Todd Pletcher), 10-1
4 Disarm (Joel Rosario, Steve Asmussen), 8-1
5 Pyrenees (Brian Hernandez, Jr., Cherie DeVaux), 8-1
6 Highland Falls (Flavien Prat, Brad Cox), 4-1
7 Arthur’s Ride (Junior Alvarado, Bill Mott), 4-5
The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
