Arrogate Represents New Era for Juddmonte

"History is full of the next great thing coming along to challenge the current champion. There are two types of challengers. There are ones that are just happy to be there and...might get knocked out the first round. We've never been like that." —Garrett O'Rourke, manager of Juddmonte Farms

Prince Khalid Abdullah has never let his operation be touched by mediocrity. For horses who carry the Juddmonte Farms silks or the bloodlines cultivated by its years of artful matings, top-level success often becomes synonymous with those associated with the brand.

One of the few things lacking in recent years for Prince Abdullah was the stalwart West Coast presence his farm previously enjoyed when it had a string under the care of the late Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel. In his desire to amend that situation, Prince Abdullah sought out whom he considered the best, then went about getting the bloodstock to match.

The dividends came quickly in the form of Arrogate, the long-striding son of Unbridled's Song Juddmonte purchased specifically because they thought he would be an ideal fit in the program of Hall of Fame conditioner Bob Baffert. He has already proven their instincts correct with his record-setting, 13 1/2-length win in the Aug. 27 Travers Stakes (gr. I) at Saratoga Race Course. 

NOVAK: Arrogate Blazes to Travers Record

And days out from the Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I) at Santa Anita Park Nov. 5, the horse who is helping revive Juddmonte's California presence is roundly hailed as the best hope to upend a certain California-bred who has run roughshod over all in 2016.

Should Arrogate pull off what no horse has this season and defeat 2014 Horse of the Year California Chrome   in the Classic, he would give Juddmonte its fifth Breeders' Cup triumph as owner but its first in the event's signature 1 1/4 miles test. It would go down as an upset of some proportions, given California Chrome's 6-for-6 record this year, in which he has made some fellow grade I winners look common.

It would also be a testament to how enduring success often goes hand in hand with adaptability.

"We had a very, strong presence for decades in California, and Prince Khalid really enjoyed having horses there—especially throughout the winter when racing in Europe shuts down," said Garrett O'Rourke, manager of Juddmonte Farms. "Obviously, when Bobby died we didn't have that presence there. It was entirely Prince Khalid himself who said 'I'd like to have horses in California, who is the best trainer out there?' And (Baffert) is the best trainer. So we bought horses specifically for him because we didn't have the ideal type of speed California dirt horses, and that's where it all grew from."

Stabled in the same Clearsky Farms consignment as future graded stakes winner and co-sale topper Mohaymen, Arrogate was a $560,000 acquisition out of the 2014 Keeneland September yearling sale, one of eight youngsters purchased by Juddmonte at the auction. Unraced at two due to some minor shin issues, the lanky colt touted himself in winning three of his first four starts since debuting in April, so much that Baffert felt confident sending him against the likes of Preakness Stakes (gr. I) winner Exaggerator   and Belmont Stakes (gr. I) hero Creator in the Travers for his first stakes try.

Baffert says he has yet to let the big gray colt really get rolling during his morning works. So when Arrogate burst to the lead in the Travers, cut an opening half mile in :46.84 and never slowed until well past the wire, it was a show of dominance that left his connections taken aback—in the best way.

"We don't know how good he is. What he did in the Travers--I knew he had a chance to win, I knew he would run very big, but I didn't know he was going to do that," Baffert said. "When that horse won the Travers, I felt like Bobby with (2003 Belmont Stakes winner) Empire Maker   and all those great horses. When you're part of that group, when you get the name Juddmonte, it's an elite group to be involve in."

While Arrogate represents a fresh chapter for Juddmonte, the operation is just as admirably represented in this Breeders' Cup World Championships by the kind of globally, successful entity that has been its hallmark.

Juddmonte homebreds have long cast a shadow as some of the best in the sport—particularly on grass—and few spark as much praise as multiple grade I winner Flintshire, the 5-2 morning line favorite for the Nov. 5 Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (gr. IT). 

As evidenced by his more than $8.9 million in career earnings, there is no venue the six-year-old son of Dansili (GB) has stepped into without some measure of success. Since scoring his first group I triumph in 2013 Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris (Fr-I) at Longchamp, Flintshire has contested top-level contests in five countries, finishing worse than third just three times in 23 career starts.

In this, his first full season being campaigned exclusively in the United States, Flintshire made himself at home with wins in the Woodford Reserve Manhattan (gr. IT), Bowling Green (gr. IIT), and Longines Sword Dancer (gr. IT) before catching some unfavorable soft ground during a runner-up effort in the Oct. 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic (gr. IT). 

"Accomplishment-wise, he ranks on the very top, because we've never had a horse earn as much money as he has done," O'Rourke said. "As far as a horse that becomes one of your favorites and that you admire, he's right at the top as well. Obviously (unbeaten champion) Frankel is the best horse we've ever had, and there is no denying that. But it depends on what categories you're putting them into—brilliance and durability and putting those points together—(Flintshire) ranks right up at the top."

In Flintshire, Juddmonte is flaunting what it has long done as well as any Thoroughbred operation—wreaking havoc in the turf ranks in all corners of the globe. And tucked away on the Santa Anita backstretch is Arrogate, the colt who has become a microcosm for the farm's attempt to rebuild an old dynasty—untapped in his full potential, fearsome in what he could unleash but already respected for what he has achieved in his fledging development. 

"Prince Khalid always wants to go with a winning chance. And I think this horse has improved by his Travers performance and can do something special," said O'Rourke. "He's done it on at least one occasion and now he has to back it up and see if he can do it again. You don't want to get in the ring with the champion and get knocked out."