Arrogate eyes San Diego Handicap

ARCADIA, Calif. – The top horse in the world will make his next start at the premier summer meet in California and in a race sponsored in part by TVG. That is all but certain.

But whether Arrogate returns July 22 on opening weekend of the Del Mar summer meet or Aug. 19 in the TVG Pacific Classic at Del Mar depends on variables including how Arrogate responds when he returns to serious training beginning Tuesday at Santa Anita.

Trainer Bob Baffert confirmed Monday that Arrogate will be pointed to the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap on July 22. His participation in the 1 1/16-mile race is not a guarantee.

“If all goes well, if everything is running smoothly, [the San Diego] is likely,” Baffert said. “If I’m happy with the way he’s doing … if I feel he needs a race.”

The purse of the San Diego will be increased from $200,000 to $300,000 if Arrogate runs. The race has been renamed the TVG San Diego Handicap.

Whether or not Arrogate starts in the San Diego, Baffert said the Grade 1 Pacific Classic remains the main summer goal for Arrogate, who has not started since March 25, when he won his seventh straight race, the $10 million Dubai World Cup.

Arrogate returned to Santa Anita in early April, resumed galloping in recent weeks, and on Tuesday morning, the world’s richest horse will turn it up a notch. Arrogate is scheduled to breeze three furlongs at 7:45, under exercise rider Dana Barnes.

“He looks good; now we’ll get him back to work,” Baffert said, emphasizing that the three-furlong Tuesday workout is only a starting point as he gears up for a summer-fall campaign that will include the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar on Nov. 4.

It was one year ago Monday, on June 5 at Santa Anita, that Arrogate won a maiden race in the second start of his career. He followed with allowance wins at Santa Anita and Del Mar and four Grade 1 races – the Travers at Saratoga, the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita, the Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park, and the Dubai World Cup.

Arrogate, a 4-year-old son of Unbridled’s Song owned by Juddmonte Farms, has won seven races and $17,084,600 from eight starts.

The Del Mar summer meet opens July 19. Del Mar and TVG announced that a limited supply of Arrogate posters will be given away July 22.