Arcangelo Rises to Second in NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll
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Photo: Skip Dickstein
Arcangelo and jockey Javier Castellano after winning the Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course
Following his victory in the Aug. 26 Travers Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course, Blue Rose Farm's Arcangelo has soared into second place in the latest National Thoroughbred Racing Association Top Thoroughbred Poll.
The Jena Antonucci trainee secured the most first-place votes among national media participating in the poll but still fell just short of Cody's Wish in overall points by a 292-290 margin. Voting in the Top Thoroughbred Poll represents horses competing for Horse of the Year, and the poll concludes Nov. 7 following the Breeders' Cup.
A winner of the Peter Pan Stakes (G3) and Belmont Stakes (G1), Arcangelo is the lone 3-year-old ranked in the top 10, the clear leader of the 3-year-old male division. The Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), contested this year on Nov. 4 at Santa Anita Park, is one of the most influential races for determining Horse of the Year and other championship honors.
Godolphin's Cody's Wish, trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, is expected to race this fall in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1), a race he won last year, with the seven-furlong Vosburgh Stakes (G2) Sept. 30 at Aqueduct Racetrack preceding the Breeders' Cup.
Also rising sharply in the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll are Echo Zulu , Gunite , and Idiomatic . They climbed to fourth, sixth, and ninth, respectively, after winning grade 1 stakes at Saratoga last week.
The latest poll covers racing performances through Aug. 27. Full rankings can be found online.