Arrogate Tops North American Earnings for 2017
Image:
Description:
Photo: Racingfotos
Arrogate takes the 2017 Pegasus World Cup and bolsters his earnings to an untouchable range
By the end of 2017, the aura that surrounded champion Arrogate just months earlier had dimmed—the byproduct of Gun Runner 's brilliant takeover of the handicap ranks in the second half of the year.
Where his chestnut rival cemented what is almost certain to be recognized as a Horse of the Year campaign with his victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) Nov. 4, Arrogate had already established a monetary advantage no challenger could dent.
Anchored by his victory in the inaugural running of the $12 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) last January, Arrogate finished 2017 as the leading equine money earner in North America with $7,338,000 in purses, according to statistics released this week by Equibase.
In addition to taking home the $7 million first-place prize money in the Pegasus, Arrogate also claimed the world's second richest race when he captured the $10 million Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline (G1) last March 25. That victory vaulted Arrogate past California Chrome as North America's all-time leading money earner and with the inclusion of that race, his earnings for 2017 alone came to $13,338,000.
Coming in second on the earnings list was multiple grade 1 winner Gun Runner, who compiled a bankroll of $4,950,700—$6,950,700 including his runner-up finish in the Dubai World Cup. The son of Candy Ride and fellow grade 1 winner Unique Bella each won five graded stakes last year to lead all North American runners with Gun Runner posting four grade 1 triumphs in the Stephen Foster Handicap, Whitney Stakes, Woodward Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets, and his Classic victory.
Shaman Ghost ($2,520,000), Always Dreaming ($2,320,600), and Talismanic ($2,200,000) rounded out the top five in North America earnings.
The John Martin-trained Mended, winner of the Dec. 2 Claiming Crown Glass Slipper Stakes, tied with Jaqueline Smith's Oregon-bred Cantchaco with 10 victories in 2017 to lead all North American runners by number of wins. Mended, a 5-year-old daughter of Broken Vow , earned all of her wins in consecutive fashion with her only defeat in 11 starts last year coming when she finished fourth in her season debut at Golden Gate Fields in January of 2017.