Arthur's Ride Vaults Into Sixth in NTRA Poll
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Photo: Skip Dickstein
Arthur’s Ride wins the Whitney Stakes at Saratoga
Following his breakout stakes victory in the Aug. 3 Whitney Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course, Arthur's Ride debuts in sixth place in the latest National Thoroughbred Racing Association Top Thoroughbred Poll. The poll, conducted by national media and covering racing performances through Aug. 4, represents racehorses competing for Horse of the Year.
Arthur's Ride, a winner of three of four starts this year for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott and owner Glassman Racing, tried the stakes ranks for the first time in the 1 1/8-mile Whitney and was more than up to the challenge. Outrunning his rivals to the lead over a muddy surface, the gray or roan son of Tapit opened a five-length lead in midstretch and coasted under the wire 2 1/4 lengths in front under Junior Alvarado. His 1:48.54 time for the distance earned him a second consecutive 115 Equibase Speed Figure.
Senor Buscador leads the poll, leading elite 3-year-old filly Thorpedo Anna and National Treasure , winner of the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) and Metropolitan Handicap (G1). The latter ran sixth as the favorite in the Whitney.
Adare Manor , who took Saturday's Clement L. Hirsch Stakes (G1), just as she did last summer at Del Mar, is fourth, followed by reigning champion older dirt female Idiomatic .
The poll concludes Nov. 5, days after the Breeders' Cup. Individual votes can be found online.