The fields for the 14 races that comprise the Breeders’ Cup World Championships really begin to come into focus in summer and fall. This regular feature will offer a snapshot profile of one of the previous weekend’s standout stars, usually a Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” Challenge Series winner, and exploring their chances to win a targeted race Nov. 1-2 at Del Mar.

On Aug. 3, lightly raced Arthur’s Ride aced a significant class test by dominating the $1 million, Grade 1 Whitney Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. The 4-year-old Tapit colt, making his stakes debut, bested nine opponents – eight of them graded stakes winners – and earned a starting-gate spot in the $7 million, Grade 1 Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic held Nov. 2.

Accomplishments: Arthur’s Ride debuted during the summer 2022 Saratoga meet, competing in two maiden special weight races held at seven furlongs against several other highly regarded 2-year-olds. He finished second to runaway winner Disarm in early August and then second again – by only three-quarters of a length – in his follow-up race to Instant Coffee, with Crupi finishing third in both races. Each of those winners as well as Crupi would go on to capture graded stakes, and Crupi and Disarm finished second and fourth, respectively, in last Saturday’s Whitney.

In his first, and as it turned out only, start at age 3, Arthur’s Ride resurfaced in a one-turn mile maiden special weight race at Gulfstream Park in February 2023. He set a contested pace and had plenty in reserve to win by 1 ½ lengths over Dreamlike, who would train on to run second in the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby later in the year. Unfortunately, Arthur’s Ride was sidelined after his maiden win due to a tendon strain, and did not make his fourth start until March 16 of this year at age 4, when he returned to compete in an allowance optional claiming race on the same track and at the same distance as his maiden win 13 months earlier.

The physically striking gray or roan colt showed no effects of the layoff, dominating by 7 ½ lengths with jockey Junior Alvarado in the irons for the first time, and the resulting buzz was sufficient enough to make him a 1.53-1 favorite in his next start seven weeks later, a one-turn mile allowance optional claimer on the May 3 Longines Kentucky Oaks undercard at Churchill Downs. In his only dud effort to date, Arthur’s Ride faded to finish ninth of 11 runners under the twin spires, in a race held on a sloppy track.

Arthur’s Ride returned in a 1 ¼-mile allowance optional claiming race held June 7 during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga, and something clicked when he stretched out to two turns for the first time as he took control of the pace at the outset and was never challenged in a 12 ¾-length romp. That win at the classic distance convinced owner Karl Glassman of Glassman Racing and Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott to enter Arthur’s Ride in the Whitney Stakes, an ambitious move to say the least.

In the Whitney, 6.90-1 shot Arthur’s Ride conceded stakes experience to all of his opponents, but Junior Alvarado rode his mount as if the opposite was true, aggressively urging him to secure the lead heading into the first turn of the 1 1/8-mile race, which was held on a muddy track. Projected pacesetter, three-time Grade 1 winner, and post-time favorite National Treasure never challenged Arthur’s Ride for the lead, and he opened up on the field by five lengths in early stretch. Alvarado kept Arthur’s Ride focused through the final eighth of a mile, and he had enough stamina in reserve to easily finish 2 ¼ lengths clear of a rallying Crupi. The colt showed he still has maturing to do by swerving and unseating Alvarado in the gallop-out, but all in all his Whitney win was one of the most impressive so far in 2024, and that’s backed up by…

Speed Figures: Since Arthur’s Ride has stretched out to two turns, his speed figures have elevated to an elite level. He earned a 115 Equibase Speed Figure in his June allowance win going a mile and a quarter – a 19-point improvement over his previous high back in March – and repeated that number in the Whitney. Arthur’s Ride earned a 111 Beyer Speed Figure in his June victory at the Spa, which is the highest for any horse racing a mile or longer on the main track this year. He then tallied a 110 BSF in the Whitney, which is tied for second on the same Daily Racing Form chart with Fierceness’ number earned back in March when winning the Curlin Florida Derby Presented by Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm at Xalapa.

Looking Ahead: Bill Mott told David Grening of Daily Racing Form that Arthur’s Ride appears to have come out of the Whitney in great shape and that absent any setbacks the plan is to enter him in the 1 ¼-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes Sept. 1 at Saratoga. Like the Whitney, the Jockey Club Gold Cup is a $1 million, Grade 1 stakes offering a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic in November.

Winning both of those historic races in the same year would be a monumental feat, but those who expressed skepticism about this colt’s chances of stepping up in class and handling the first assignment last Saturday (blush) were silenced in about one minute and 49 seconds. No doubt about it, Arthur’s Ride has entered into the top echelon of 2024 BC Classic contenders, and his high cruising speed is his biggest asset. He set swift early fractions in the Whitney and although tiring a bit late still finished with intent, and he’s already proven capable of excelling at a mile and a quarter.

There are a couple of 3-year-olds currently progressing to a possible start in the BC Classic who have similar running styles to Arthur’s Ride and pedigrees packed with stamina – gritty Belmont Stakes and NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes winner Dornoch and intriguing Indiana Derby and West Virginia Derby winner Dragoon Guard – although they still have ground to make up on the Whitney winner in terms of speed figures. It will be interesting to see how this burgeoning star will respond if/when he matches up against a racehorse who has the speed and fortitude to challenge him on the lead. There’s a chance, though, that such an opponent doesn’t exist this year, and that makes Arthur’s Ride a definite “buy” as a potential BC Classic winner. Racing fans and horseplayers can only hope for good health and steady training for all of the contenders in the months ahead.