Arcangelo on Top of Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings
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Photo: Skip Dickstein
Arcangelo defeats Disarm in the Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course
Blue Rose Farm's Arcangelo , winner of the Aug. 26 Travers Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course, has ascended to the top spot in the latest Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings, while the Travers runner-up, Disarm , has joined the top 10 for the first time. The Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings are a weekly rating of the top 10 horses in contention for the $6 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), which will be run Nov. 4 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California.
Arcangelo, a 3-year-old son of 2016 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) winner Arrogate, received 318 votes, including 17 first-place votes. Trained by Jena Antonucci, Arcangelo rose from fourth place to first in Week #7 of the rankings. C2 Racing Stable, LLC and La Milagrosa Stable, LLC's 4-year-old White Abarrio , winner of the Whitney Stakes (G1), holds onto second place with 260 votes. Pin Oak Stud LLC's Geaux Rocket Ride , winner of the TVG.com Haskell Stakes (G1), is third with 231 votes.
Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's Forte , who had been No. 1 in the poll the past three weeks, dropped to fourth following his fourth-place finish as the 8-5 favorite in the Travers. Forte earned 173 votes.
Lucky Seven Stable's Rattle N Roll , runner-up in the Stephen Foster Stakes (G1), is fifth with 130 votes, followed by Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman's Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes (G1) winner Defunded , who is sixth with 111 votes.
Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC's Disarm, who closed strongly to finish a length behind Arcangelo in the Travers, is in seventh place. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Disarm earned 108 votes.
Jeff Drown's 4-year-old Zandon , runner-up in the Whitney, ranks eighth with 91 votes. Godolphin's 5-year-old Proxy , who won the Oaklawn Handicap (G2), is ninth with 78 votes.
After trailing the seven-horse field in the Travers, Mage , who won the Kentucky Derby (G1), drops from fourth to 10th place with 61 votes.
The Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings are determined by a panel of leading Thoroughbred racing media, horseplayers, and members of the Breeders' Cup Racing Directors/Secretaries Panel. Rankings will be announced each week through Oct. 10. A list of voting members can be found here.
In the Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings, each voter rates horses on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 system in descending order.
Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings—Aug. 29, 2023*
|
Rank |
Horse |
Votes |
First-Place Votes |
Previous Week |
|
1 |
Arcangelo |
318 |
17 |
5 |
|
2 |
White Abarrio |
260 |
8 |
2 |
|
3 |
Geaux Rocket Ride |
231 |
2 |
3 |
|
4 |
Forte |
173 |
1 |
1 |
|
5 |
Rattle N Roll |
130 |
2 |
6 |
|
6 |
Defunded |
111 |
2 |
7 |
|
7 |
Disarm |
108 |
0 |
0 |
|
8 |
Zandon |
91 |
0 |
8 |
|
9 |
Proxy |
78 |
0 |
9 |
|
10 |
Mage |
61 |
0 |
4 |
Also receiving one first-place vote this week were King of Steel and Ushba Tesoro .
*Note—The Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings have no bearing on qualification or selection into the Breeders' Cup Classic.
The 2023 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, which will be run at 1 1/4 miles on the main track at Santa Anita, is limited to 14 starters. The race will be broadcast live on NBC and Peacock.