Arrogate

Spendthrift purchased the breeding rights to Authentic before the Grade l Santa Anita Derby, and the $9 million kicker it agreed to pay Authentic's former ownership group for winning the Gl Kentucky Derby is indicative of the premium that's placed on a stallion prospect with North America's most prestigious Classic on his resume. A front-running colt, Authentic has the right type of sire behind him as well. He's by Spendthrift's flagship stallion Into Mischief (Harlan's Holiday), who cranks out graded stakes winners like nobody's business, particularly sprinters and milers that...

Arrogate's first book of 143 mares, a who's who of some of the top breeding stock in the country, reflected the jaw-dropping career of North America's richest racehorse. Dual Eclipse Champion Songbird (Medaglia d'Oro) was one of several champions sent to Arrogate during his first year at stud. "Arrogate's first book was incredibly special," said Juddmonte's Stallions Nominations Manager Leif Aaron. "Half of the book was graded stakes winners or graded stakes producers, and a quarter of it was Grade I winners or Grade I producers. Breeders brought their very...

As a Hall of Fame jockey and two-time winning rider of the GI Kentucky Derby, Mike Smith knows his way around Churchill Downs. After having his morning-line favored mount Omaha Beach (War Front) scratched the week of the race last year, Smith is back aboard a major contender in Saturday's Run for the Roses. Wednesday, the 55-year-old rider who's still at the top of his game joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland. Calling in via Zoom from Louisville as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Smith talked...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 5th-GP, $65K, Msw, 2yo, f, 5fT, 2:05 p.m. ET Two juveniles bred in Europe who debut for top barns headline this turf sprint Wednesday in Hallandale, led by Wesley Ward trainee AMANZI YIMPILO (IRE) (No Nay Never). By an emerging star stallion, the chestnut was picked up for $300,000 at Keeneland September and signaled her readiness for this unveiling with a best-of-64 bullet half-mile breeze around dogs on the Palm Meadows turf in :47 4/5 May 30. She hails from the female family of champion...

The unexpected death of Arrogate (Unbridled's Song) on Tuesday was a devastating blow to his connections at Juddmonte and to the industry at large. He was the horse that Juddmonte had expected to base its boutique North American stallion operation around and he was the last great hope that his late sire would deliver a top-of-the-line stallion, something Unbridled's Song has been unable to do yet during an illustrious career as an excellent sire of racehorses, including 22 Grade l winners, and an outstanding sire of broodmares. Those expectations have...

Arrogate (Unbridled's Song--Bubbler, by Distorted Humor), the richest North American racehorse in history, was humanely euthanized Tuesday morning at Juddmonte Farms in Lexington, Kentucky, after suffering from an undetermined illness, Juddmonte Farms announced via press release. He was 7-years-old. "It is with great sadness that Juddmonte confirms that Arrogate was euthanized this morning, after a battle to save him [from] an illness that began last week. It is still unclear what the illness was and a post -mortem is currently being carried out," the release said. "Arrogate had a very...

   In Part II of a two-part series, John Berry looks at Juddmonte's lasting influences from the late 80s through to the present on the 40th anniversary weekend of Prince Khalid Abdullah's first Classic win with Known Fact in the 2000 Guineas. Click here for Part I. When the mighty Dancing Brave (Lyphard) retired to stud, his brilliant 1986 G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe triumph shining like a beacon in the collective consciousness, it was generally felt that Prince Khalid Abdullah had probably reached the pinnacle of his ownership...

If not for the COVID-19 pandemic, Saturday would have been the 25th renewal of the Dubai World Cup. The iconic 2000-metre dirt race (and for five renewals synthetic) has held sway as the world's richest race for 22 of its 24 renewals, first at Nad Al Sheba and later Meydan, and it has produced some sterling results. The TDN's Tom Frary has paid homage to Dubai Millennium (GB) on the 20th anniversary of his victory, and so with that notable performance aside we look back on some of the other...

The first foals by Grade I-winning multimillionaire Collected (City Zip--Helena Bay, by Johannesburg), have been reported at leading nurseries Airdrie Stud, Anderson Farms and Trackside Farm, Airdrie announced Tuesday. Airdrie Stud resident Believe You Can (Proud Citizen), winner of six stakes including the 2012 GI Kentucky Oaks, foaled a colt by Collected Feb. 1. "We bred the most important mare on our farm to Collected and he has greatly rewarded our faith in him," said Airdrie's Bret Jones. "Believe You Can's colt is an absolutely exceptional foal with the presence...

We've taken a breather in this series during the January Sale, where I shared many conversations on themes raised in its first two parts--notably the market's addiction to unproven stallions. Time after time, it was the same story. A shrug of the shoulders, a helpless spreading of the hands: "Yes, we know it's nuts. But we have to make the game pay." Fair enough. It's a bit like the individual who asks why he or she should make a massively inconvenient personal sacrifice, with regard to the climate crisis, when...