Study Guide: 2024 Jockey Club Gold Cup
Aug 29, 2024
Arthur's Ride wins the Whitney (G1) at Saratoga (Photo by Benoit Photography)
A “Win and You’re In” berth to the Nov. 2 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) is up for grabs in Sunday’s $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) at Saratoga.
The historic 1 1/4-mile race has drawn seven horses, including three Grade 1 winners. Two of them started in the 2023 Kentucky Derby (G1).
Let’s take a horse-by-horse look at the field:
Tapit Trice
Tapit Trice wins the Blue Grass (G1) at Keeneland (Photo by Coady Phography)
Start(s): 10
Wins: 5
Place: 0
Show: 3
Owner: Whisper Hill Farm and Gainesway Stable
Breeder: Gainesway Thoroughbreds
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.
Top Speed Rating: (109) when finishing third in the 2023 Belmont (G1) at Belmont Park.
Total Earnings: $1,453,650
Sire: Tapit
Dam: Danzatrice
Color: Gray/roan
Winner of the Blue Grass (G1) and third in the Belmont (G1) last year, Kentucky Derby veteran Tapit Trice recently kicked off his four-year-old campaign with a 5 1/4-length romp in the 1 1/8-mile Monmouth Cup (G3). This stretch-running colt has every chance to record a top-three finish while stretching out over 1 1/4 miles for the Jockey Club Gold Cup.
Kuchar
Start(s): 16
Wins: 4
Place: 3
Show: 3
Owner: LSU Stables
Breeder: WinStar Farm
Trainer: Rudy Rodriguez
Jockey: Luis Saez
Top Speed Rating: (97) when finishing fifth in the Suburban (G2) at Saratoga.
Total Earnings: $388,340
Sire: Uncle Mo
Dam: Street Girl
Color: Bay
Kuchar has won over 1 1/4 miles, taking a 2022 allowance at Churchill Downs by two lengths. But he’s finished fifth in all three of his graded stakes appearances and may find the Jockey Club Gold Cup competition a little too deep.
Bright Future
Bright Future Salvator Mile (G3) at Monmouth Park (Photo By Equi-Photo / Credit to Bill Denver)
Start(s): 10
Wins: 5
Place: 0
Show: 2
Owner: Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables
Breeder: Clearsky Farms
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Jockey: Javier Castellano
Top Speed Rating: (105) when winning the 2023 Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) at Saratoga.
Total Earnings: $932,940
Sire: Curlin
Dam: Sophia’s Song
Color: Chestnut
Bright Future battled to victory by a nose in last year’s Jockey Club Gold Cup and started 2024 on a fine note in the Salvator Mile (G3), overcoming some trouble to win by 1 3/4 lengths. But he misfired over a muddy track in Saratoga’s Whitney (G1) on Aug. 3, finishing a distant eighth behind Jockey Club Gold Cup favorite Arthur’s Ride. Perhaps returning to a fast track can help Bright Future rebound.
Disarm
Disarm wins at Churchill Downs (Photo by Coady Media)
Start(s): 12
Wins: 3
Place: 3
Show: 2
Owner: Winchell Thoroughbreds
Breeder: Winchell Thoroughbreds
Trainer: Steve Asmussen
Jockey: Joel Rosario
Top Speed Rating: (104) on multiple occasions, including when second in the 2023 Travers (G1) at Saratoga.
Total Earnings: $1,146,790
Sire: Gun Runner
Dam: Easy Tap
Color: Chestnut
Kentucky Derby fourth-place finisher Disarm ranked among the best three-year-olds of 2023; in the 1 1/4-mile Travers (G1), he finished a good second. But he hasn’t been quite as sharp this year, missing the top three in the Stephen Foster (G1) and Whitney (G1), so Disarm needs to recapture his best form if he’s going to factor in the Jockey Club Gold Cup.
Pyrenees
Start(s): 9
Wins: 4
Place: 2
Show: 1
Owner: Blue Heaven Farm
Breeder: Blue Heaven Farm
Trainer: Cherie DeVaux
Jockey: Brian Hernandez Jr.
Top Speed Rating: (99) when finishing second in the Stephen Foster (G1) at Churchill Downs.
Total Earnings: $516,316
Sire: Into Mischief
Dam: Our Khrysty
Color: Bay
Pyrenees won four straight races between December and May, including the Pimlico Special (G3) over Kingsbarns. That outcome was reversed in the June 29 Stephen Foster (G1), with Kingsbarns trumping Pyrenees by 2 1/2 lengths, but even in defeat Pyrenees earned a career-best 99 Brisnet Speed rating. He’s posted sharp workouts since then and has a shot to crack the top four in the Jockey Club Gold Cup.
Highland Falls
Highland Falls wins at Churchill Downs (Photo by Coady Media)
Start(s): 8
Wins: 4
Place: 2
Show: 1
Owner: Godolphin
Breeder: Godolphin
Trainer: Brad Cox
Jockey: Flavien Prat
Top Speed Rating: (101) when winning the Blame (G3) at Churchill Downs.
Total Earnings: $642,060
Sire: Curlin
Dam: Round Pond
Color: Chestnut
Highland Falls got boxed in behind a slow pace in the Monmouth Cup before closing ground late to finish second against Tapit Trice. He’d previously won the Blame (G3) with a strong 101 Brisnet Speed rating, so with an unencumbered trip in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, Highland Falls has top-three potential. As a son of Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) winner Curlin out of Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) heroine Round Pond, Highland Falls is bred to relish 1 1/4 miles.
Arthur’s Ride
Arthur's Ride wins the Whitney (G1) at Saratoga (Photo by Benoit Photography)
Start(s): 7
Wins: 4
Place: 2
Show: 0
Owner: Glassman Racing
Breeder: Helen Barbazon, Joseph Barbazon, and Tapit Syndicate
Trainer: Bill Mott
Jockey: Junior Alvarado
Top Speed Rating: (107) when winning the Whitney (G1) at Saratoga.
Total Earnings: $764,955
Sire: Tapit
Dam: Points of Grace
Color: Gray/roan
Hands-down the horse to beat in the Jockey Club Gold Cup is Arthur’s Ride. He’s been on fire at Saratoga this year, wiring a 1 1/4-mile allowance optional claimer by 12 3/4 lengths before employing identical tactics to take the Whitney (G1) by 2 1/4 lengths. Those victories yielded excellent Brisnet Speed ratings of 106 and 107, and a similar number on Sunday can land Arthur’s Ride a third straight Saratoga victory.
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