Arzak scores upset in Woodford

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Arzak lost his form late in 2022 and started his 2023 season in similar fashion, but he regrouped with a Saratoga allowance win in August and hit a high point in his career Saturday at Keeneland with a two-length win the Grade 2, $350,000 Woodford Stakes.

Arzak took advantage of a blistering pace that eventually wilted English shipper Live In The Dream, hooked down the backstretch of this 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint by no-hope 70-1 shot Foxtrotanna, who wound up last of 12. The first quarter-mile, run with a strong tailwind, went in 20.97 seconds, the half in 43.97, and after putting away the outside pace pressure, Live In The Dream went clear in upper stretch. But even then, Arzak was rolling.

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Trained by Michael Trombetta for the Sonata Stable, Arzak, a 5-year-old son of Not this Time and Delightful Melody, by Tapit, fetched $575,000 at a 2-year-old sale in 2020. By the spring of 2022, the horse had found his niche sprinting on synthetic surfaces and turf. He won and placed in graded-turf stakes at Woodbine last year and was a close fourth in the Troy at Saratoga before finishing his campaign with a whimper. In his first three starts this year, Arzak failed to produce anything close to his best, but he woke up Aug. 23 at Saratoga with a 17-1 upset in a high-level allowance race.

Saturday was even better. Arzak broke well enough under Joel Rosario, who plunked his mount down on the rail sitting fifth, far enough behind the scorching pace to avoid its enervating effects but well clear of the closing pack. Arzak traveled smoothly around the turn and when Rosario wheeled him out, Arzak was full of run. He collared Live In The Dream in the final furlong and comfortably held clear Our Shot, who nipped Beer Can Man for second. Live In The Dream held fourth, 1 1/4 lengths behind Beer Can Man, who briefly lost his action at about the three-furlong marker before coming with a run.

Arzak was timed in 1:01.65 over a fast, firm course, paid $25.66, and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 101. He ran well enough to merit a slot in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint should connections want to take their shot.

Live In the Dream is running in the BC Sprint, all being well, trainer Adam West said. Winner of the Group 1 Nunthorpe in his most recent race, Live In The Dream breaks very well for a European horse and, as he showed Saturday, has loads of speed. West said all things considered he was pleased with his horse’s performance, pointing out that the Turf Sprint next month is a half-furlong shorter and run over a Santa Anita course with a considerably shorter homestretch than Keeneland’s.

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