No one insisted the trainer do everything in
his power to make the Triple Crown races and,
indeed, Arrogate was not pushed to make the
spring classics.
But when he was sent against Grade 1 foes for
the first time in the Travers, that result and what
followed was almost magical.
"He is obviously a horse that people have
compared to Man o' War, to Secretariat, a horse
that is that dominant, that impressive," O'Rourke
said. "He is the type of horse we always aspire to
be racing for Juddmonte and for Prince Khalid."
O'Rourke is extremely optimistic that Arrogate,
the defending Classic champion, will rebound
from upset losses in the July 22 San Diego
Handicap and the Aug. 19 Pacific Classic, both
over a Del Mar surface that will host the $6 million
Breeders' Cup Classic.
"His recent workouts are starting to look eerily
similar to when he was at his absolute prime," the
racing manager said. "He's a horse just returning
to his absolute peak form. There is a tremendous
anticipation that comes with a horse of that
caliber really starting to flaunt his stuff. I have
the confidence going into the Breeders' Cup that
he is ready to do it again."
O'Rourke also cannot help but to be equally
enthusiastic about Arrogate's stallion prospects.
Juddmonte owns approximately 70 regally-bred
broodmares in the U.S. alone.
"Definitely we are thinking of his stallion career
and we are planning for his stallion career," he
said. "We do have an awful lot of Juddmonte
mares, of which he will get not so much his pick
but the pick of this tremendous broodmare band
to help him be a success at stud."
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