A 12 3/4-length winner of a rare 10-furlong allowance with a gaudy 111 Beyer Speed Figure during the Belmont Stakes Festival at Saratoga June 7, Glassman Racing's Arthur's Ride (Tapit) was well-backed at odds of 6-1 in Saturday's GI Whitney Stakes at the Spa despite the presence of GI Met Mile winner National Treasure (Quality Road) and other, proven handicap horses.
Making his stakes debut on top of everything else in the Breeders' Cup Classic 'Win and You're In' event, Arthur's Ride was intent on the lead, set a searching gallop and proved not for catching.
Hustled away from gate nine by Junior Alvarado, the $250,000 Keeneland September graduate had to do a bit of work, but got there all the same through enervating splits of :23.26 and :46.63 prompted along by Skippylongstocking (Exaggerator) as odds-on National Treasure was forced to do his running from off the pace, though he was well-spotted in the box seat. Moving right along through three-quarters of a mile in 1:10.28, Arthur's Ride began to get away at the top of the lane, pinched an insurmountable advantage into the final furlong and held sway by 2 1/4 lengths as Crupi (Curlin) and Post Time (Frosted) made belated progress. National Treasure was sixth.
Remarkably, Hall of Famer Bill Mott was celebrating his first win in the Whitney. He saddled future Horse of the Year Cody's Wish (Curlin) to a well-beaten third-place finish as the favorite in last year's renewal.
“There were a couple of good horses in there–nice field,” Mott said. “I mean, first time in Grade I company, you couldn't be happier. I mean he has a lot of stamina. I figured if he could get to the quarter pole on the lead, he could put them away because he has a tremendous amount of stamina this horse.”
Mott continued, “It is a very important race. It is a Grade I and probably one of the top two or three races that they run in Saratoga–it is really nice. I am really glad for the Glassmans.”
We are going to run in hopefully one more stake here at the end of the meet. If he is good come November, hopefully we will be lucky enough to run in the Breeders' Cup. We were thinking to use the Whitney as a prep for the [GI] Jockey Club Gold Cup.”
Arthur's Ride, second in a pair of live maiden races as a juvenile at Saratoga, made only one start at three, graduating going a mile at Gulfstream in February. He returned from a lengthy layoff with an eye-catching optional claiming victory over that same track and trip Mar. 16, then disappointed with a ninth-place finish as the favorite in an optional claimer in the slop on the Kentucky Oaks undercard. He couldn't have been any more impressive while making his two-turn debut in his aforementioned daylight win at the Spa last time.
“The horse is named after my [late] father and to share that with my sister and my siblings [in the winner's circle] to watch it and my dad watching it [from above]–it doesn't get better than that,” winning owner Karl Glassman said.
“To be part of Bill Mott winning his first Whitney–my goodness, we'll wake up but I don't know when.”
He continued, “He had a little bit of a tendon issue. Barry Eisaman at Eisaman Equine in Ocala nursed him back and said, 'He'll come back.' He just took care of him. He wouldn't be here without Barry. We gave him time, Barry gave him time and Bill gave him time. Bill Mott is as patient as they get. He's the kind of horse that's in the perfect hands with Bill. It doesn't get better than this.”
Pedigree Notes:
Arthur's Ride is the second Whitney winner for Gainesway's inimitable Tapit, following 2016 victor Frosted. With 105 graded winners from his 166 black-type winners, there aren't too many major races in the U.S. not touched by Tapit in some way. The 23-year-old has better than $210 million in lifetime progeny earnings.
The Whitney winner also is the second Grade I offspring out of Points of Grace, Canada's champion grass mare of 2009. Her daughter Victory to Victory (Exchange Rate) won the 2016 GI Natalma Stakes en route to champion 2-year-old filly honors in Canada that year. The mare has also produced Alittleloveandluck (Arrogate), winner of the 2022 Ginger Brew Stakes at Gulfstream. Her stakes winners account for three of Point Given's 29 black-type winners as a broodmare sire. Points of Grace's most recent foal is the winning sophomore filly Genetics, a full-sister to Arthur's Ride, who brought $525,000 from Glassman Racing–owner of the Whitney winner–at the 2022 Keeneland September sale. The mare was bred to Verifying for next term.
Saturday, Saratoga
WHITNEY S.-GI, $1,000,000, Saratoga, 8-3, 4yo/up, 1 1/8m, 1:48.54, my.
1–ARTHUR'S RIDE, 118, c, 4, by Tapit
1st Dam: Points of Grace (Ch. Grass Mare-Can, GSW, $502,353), by Point Given
2nd Dam: Fateful, by Topsider
3rd Dam: Fate's Reward, by Key to the Mint
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST GRADE I WIN. ($250,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP). O-Glassman Racing; B-Helen Barbazon, Joseph Barbazon & Tapit Syndicate (FL); T-William I. Mott; J-Junior Alvarado. $550,000. Lifetime Record: 7-4-2-0, $764,955. *1/2 to Victory to Victory (Exchange Rate), Ch. 2-year-old Filly-Can, GISW, $210,804; 1/2 to Alittleloveandluck (Arrogate), SW, $182,155. Werk Nick Rating: B. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Crupi, 122, c, 4, Curlin–Don'tforgetaboutme, by Malibu Moon. ($275,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP). O-Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables LLC; B-Claiborne Farm (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $200,000.
3–Post Time, 120, c, 4, Frosted–Vielsalm, by Fairbanks. ($85,000 Ylg '21 EASOCT). O-Hillwood Stable LLC; B-Dr. & Mrs. Thomas Bowman, Dr. Brooke Bowman & Milton P Higgins III (MD); T-Brittany T. Russell. $120,000.
Margins: 2 1/4, NK, 4 1/4. Odds: 6.90, 11.30, 25.00.
Also Ran: Disarm, Skippylongstocking, National Treasure, First Mission, Bright Future, Warrior Johny, Charge It. Scratched: Il Miracolo, Tumbarumba.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
ARTHUR'S RIDE, son of @Gainesway stallion Tapit, dominates in the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes under @JuniorandKellyA for Bill Mott! pic.twitter.com/BUlSskkElf
— NYRA (🎪) (@TheNYRA) August 3, 2024
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