Belmont Stakes Influence Continues on Lane's End Roster

With Arcangelo  , Lane's End will launch the stallion career of its fifth Belmont Stakes (G1) winner since its former marquee sire A.P. Indy entered stud in 1993.

Not by design has the Farish family's farm gravitated toward winners of the third leg in America's Triple Crown series. The race's schedule halfway through the year showcases the best 3-year-olds of the year and if a colt can couple the Belmont with a win or strong showing in the Travers Stakes (G1), he brings powerful credentials to a stud career.

"It is not intentional but it has worked well for us," said Bill Farish. "With Arcangelo's Belmont and Travers, it was the way he won. He was running against the best 3-year-olds of the year at that point and he won the Travers over the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner."

Arcangelo is a gray or roan son of the late Arrogate, a son of Unbridled's Song and North America's richest racehorse with more than $17.4 million in earnings. Arcangelo initially attracted everyone's attention when he came storming home in the Belmont Park stretch to win the Peter Pan Stakes (G3) ahead of his classic score.

"The performance was very impressive, so then you're waiting to see if he can do it in a grade 1. It was great the way he won the Belmont and then he cemented it all with his Travers performance," Farish said.

David Ingordo, with Lane's End Bloodstock, gives a win in the Travers the same weight as winning a classic race.

"I consider the Travers a classic race, so in my mind Arcangelo is a dual classic winner," he said. Winning the Belmont, however, does require an important blend of abilities, Ingordo added.

"Contrary to popular belief a 1 1/2-mile race like the Belmont on the dirt, you have to have speed to win it, not just stamina. We have found over the years with horses like A.P. Indy and Lemon Drop Kid that they bring speed and stamina to their stallion career," he said. "Arcangelo is in that mold as well."

Besides A.P. Indy, Lane's End also stood or stands Belmont winners Lemon Drop Kid  (1999), who also won the Travers; Union Rags   (2012); and, Tonalist   (2014), who was third in the Travers.

Lane's End expands the versatility of its stallion roster this year with multiple grade 1 turf winner Up to the Mark  , who is a finalist for an Eclipse Award title as champion turf male. The 5-year-old son of Not This Time   won five of seven starts in 2023, which includes wins in the Turf Classic (G1T), Manhattan (G1T), and Turf Mile (G1T) stakes.

"He really hit my radar when he won on Derby week at Churchill (Turf Classic Stakes)," Farish said. "That race was so impressive, the way he drew away from the field and boom, gets a grade 1. Then the way he won the Manhattan, now having won at a mile and an eighth and a mile and a quarter, I was all in."

Ingordo recalled after the Manhattan, in which Up to the Mark rallied to win by 2 3/4 lengths, a flurry of texts that all essentially said: We have to have this horse.

"We went to inspect him at Saratoga and not only are his race record and his pedigree what you want them to be, it is his looks. He's a dude; he's beautiful," he said.

Up to the Mark had some minor issues during the summer and returned to racing at Keeneland in the fall in the Turf Mile. Farish said he was concerned that the cut back in distance might be too much of an adjustment for Up to the Mark. The colt's late kick delivered a win by a nose over Master of The Seas , who went on to win the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T). 

"I thought it was a monumental task for him. He ran an unbelievable race," he said. "Winning at those three distances showed his versatility and adaptability."

Up to the Mark took on European heavyweight Auguste Rodin , a dual classic winner and four-time group 1 winner, in the Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T) and was second by three-quarters of a length.

While American racing puts a premium on dirt performance, improving turf opportunities as well as the potential to throw dirt runners saw plenty of breeders step up to fill Up to the Mark's book by the end of November. Ingordo said there is little reason to doubt Up to the Mark's progeny won't excel on any surface.

"I look at things historically. A lot of our great dirt horses came from turf pedigrees when they started running in America. The wheel turned and a lot of horses bred to be dirt horses are running well in Europe," he said. "(Up to the Mark's) sire ran on dirt and his sire's half brother, Liam's Map, who is down the shedrow, throws predominantly dirt. I think that makes Up to the Mark a dual-threat stallion. If a dirt horse went to stud with his same résumé, he'd be standing for treble what this horse is standing for. Turf gets you a discount on price but it does not give you a discount on quality."

Up to the Mark enters stud at $25,000, while Arcangelo is standing for $35,000.