Arrogate Breezes Impressively for Classic

Travers Stakes (gr. I) winner Arrogate logged his final tune-up ahead of the Nov. 5 Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I) with an effortless half-mile workout Oct. 31 at Santa Anita Park.

Juddmonte Farms' 3-year-old son of Unbridled's Song ran four furlongs in :46 4/5, working outside of Bob Baffert stablemate Bollywood. Arrogate broke off about a half-length behind Bollywood—a maiden winner and Bernardini   colt—ran the first quarter in :23 3/5, and cruised by in the stretch under jockey Martin Garcia to finish about two lengths ahead.

"He went nice," Baffert said. "It was good to get it out of the way. I was a bit tense today. He's a beautiful-moving horse, but he still has to run against California Chrome."

When Baffert is on edge, it is usually an indication he something special coming down the pike. Just how special Arrogate is remains something his connections are still trying to get a handle on in the aftermath of his 13 1/2 length, track-record setting win in the Aug. 27 Travers, his first try against stakes company.

NOVAK: Arrogate Blazes to Travers Record

"I thought it was visually very impressive," regular race rider Mike Smith said after watching Arrogate's move. "To go :46 4/5—and he was just cruising around. The stamina he has is what stands out to me. A lot of horses can go fast, but they can't go fast and keep going fast.

"He goes fast and then has gears on top of it, which is exactly what you want and more."

Arrogate looking very smooth in his final move pic.twitter.com/hLvu76Diyv

— Alicia Wincze Hughes (@BH_AHughes) October 31, 2016

Other Baffert workers on the tab included multiple grade I winner Lord Nelson, who worked four furlongs in :47 1/5  with unraced workmate Dabster in preparation for the TwinSpires Breeders' Cup Sprint (gr. I); Noted and Quoted  (Juvenile Fillies), who covered four furlongs in :47 4/5 with unraced workmate Coils Gold; and Del Mar Futurity (gr. I) winner Klimt, who prepped for the Sentient Jet Juvenile (gr. I) with a four-furlong move in :47 in company.

Other Breeders Cup workers on the work tab included Avenge, By the Moon, Celestine, Effinex, Lookin At Lee, Midnight Storm, and Om.

Of that group, Avenge, Ramona Bass' back-to-back winner of the John C. Mabee (gr. IIT) and the Rodeo Drive (gr. IT), put in the stiffest work at :58 4/5 for five furlongs in preparation for the Filly & Mare Turf (gr. IT) under the watchful eye of trainer Richard Mandella.

Grade I winner Celestine had one of the more visually impressive moves of the morning, covering a half mile in :48 flat in her last serious work before an expected run in the Nov. 5 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (gr. IT).

"I thought she looked good doing it—looked like she was on the bridle and did it the proper way," trainer Bill Mott said of Celestine. "You never know about (how she'll handle the downhill turf course). Some of these horses are proven on that course. She's never done it. I'm not particularly worried about the distance. I always thought she was very good at seven furlongs. It's just a different type of race for a filly that has never been downhill."

The rest were relatively easy, half-mile maintenance drills. Effinex (Classic, :49 1/5), By the Moon (Filly & Mare Sprint, :50 3/5), Midnight Storm (Mile, :49 2/5), Om (Turf Sprint, :47 3/5), and Lookin At Lee (Juvenile, :50 1/5) all covered a half-mile with little asking.

In the lone turf work of the morning, unbeaten Summer Stakes (Can-IIT) winner Good Samaritan covered a half-mile in :47 2/5 in preparation for the Juvenile Turf (gr. IT).

Jeremy Balan contributed to this report.