By Bill Finley
While the entire racing universe is eager to see a rematch between 'TDN Rising Star' Arrogate (Unbridled's Song) and California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit) in the Jan. 28 GI Pegasus World Cup, Juddmonte Farms' Racing Manager Lord Teddy Grimthorpe said Monday the stable is not ready to commit to the $12-million race at Gulfstream Park.
“We are going to let the dust settle,” Grimthorpe told the TDN. “Prince Khalid [Abdullah] wants to keep the horse in training next year, so we have to look at the whole of the year rather than just little parts of it. From that point of view, there is the option of both the Pegasus and the [G1] Dubai World Cup. Bob Baffert will help steer us through this. The real idea is to make the horse as good as he possibly can be. Prize money is a big thing, but it is not the only factor.”
If Arrogate started in the Pegasus, Baffert and the Juddmonte team would have to map out a campaign whereby they would have to have their colt at his best in January and also in November for the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. That could also mean fitting in a trip to Dubai for the Dubai World Cup. It may be impractical to believe the horse could hold up and be at his best at the end of the year, with what could be a lengthy and difficult campaign.
“I understand the racing world's point of view, that they'd like to see another race like the one they saw Saturday,” Grimthorpe said. “So would we. It's different for California Chrome. It's an obvious race for him to go in. He's going to stud afterward, he's already been syndicated. It's an easier decision for them. I don't want to put a damper on things and I don't want to put a green light on [a start in the Pegasus World Cup] either. We have to let the dust settle, see how we're going, see how the horse is and then put up the various options to Prince Khalid and see what he wants to do. For us, there is no enormous hurry. The overpowering thing is that we will try to do the right thing by the horse.”
As far as whether or not Prince Khalid would prefer starting in the Dubai Worlrd Cup over the Pegasus, if he feels the horse can only make one race or he other, Grimthorpe said, “He is certainly more familiar with the Dubai World Cup, as is everyone. The Pegasus Cup is a new and very interesting concept. But our priority is the horse.”
Juddmonte did not purchase a spot, which cost $1 million, in the field when they were first offered. But not yet owning a berth in the starting gate does not appear to be a problem, as there are several stake holders that do not have horses for the race and will be looking to sell their spots.
Grimthorpe had nothing but praise for California Chrome and said it took two great horses to put on the type of spectacular race the Classic turned into. He compared the race to the 1975 G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. which turned out to be a battle between Grundy (Ire) (Great Nephew {GB}) and Bustino (GB) (Busted {GB}) and is widely viewed as one of the greatest races ever.
“I spoke to one of the Chrome people on my way down to the winner's circle,” he said. “They handled it with such class, all of them. I think in a race like this there's no Arrogate without Chrome. Sure it would have been nice to win the Breeders' Cup Classic by 10 lengths, but that would have made for a much different story. There's no Grundy without Bustino and there's no Bustino without Grundy. It was an extraordinary horse race.”
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