Newly Crowned Champ Takes the Stage at Lane’s End

Owner Jon Ebbert was adamant that Arcangelo (Arrogate) was not for sale after the 3-year-old put in a hard-fought victory in the GIII Peter Pan S. The story didn't waver as the striking gray reeled off wins in the GI Belmont S. and GI Travers S. and it still didn't change when Ebbert was selecting a stallion farm for the star of his Blue Rose Farm.

At Lane's End, Ebbert found a team that was experienced with and even enthusiastic about his desire to be involved in the next chapter of the dual Grade I winner's career.

“John had a tremendous experience with the horse and really the ride of a lifetime, as he's said, but the fact that he wants to keep the whole horse and stay involved to that degree is pretty rare,” said Lane's End Farm's Bill Farish. “You don't see people doing that very much anymore and it's great to see. The last horse that we had that was kind of similar was Curlin, but there have been others over the years where the owner has stayed in. It's fun to work with him. He's involved in the mares we've selected and he just loves the horse. He wants to give him every chance at stud.”

Newly crowned as the 2023 Eclipse Champion 3-Year-Old Male, Arcangelo has fully recovered from a surgery to repair a condylar fracture and all systems are go ahead of the 2024 breeding season.

On the racetrack, Arcangelo made history for trainer Jena Antonucci. Now as a stallion, he looks to do the same for his late sire Arrogate, who has produced five Grade I winners from just three crops. Three of those top-class performers were fillies and the other was Cave Rock, who passed away from laminitis, and while the ill-fated stallion's final crop has only just turned three, for now it appears as though Arcangelo may provide the only opportunity for breeders to access a Grade I-winning son of champion Arrogate.

“[Arcangelo] being a son of Arrogate is pretty exciting for us,” said Farish. “There's no telling how good of a sire he would have been and he's certainly showing through this horse and others how good he could have been. So a son of his out of this female family–it just doesn't get much better than that.”

Arcangelo's dam Modeling (Tapit), a $2.85 million purchase for Don Alberto Corporation, is a half-sister to GISW Streaming (Smart Strike) and SWs Treasuring (Smart Strike) and Cascading (A. P. Indy). Another generation back in the family shows broodmare of the year Better Than Honour, whose produce records features Belmont-winning siblings Rags to Riches and Jazil.

Lane's End's bloodstock agent David Ingordo explained just how influential he believes this pedigree to be.

“It's one of the best families in the stud book,” he said. “It's one of those pedigrees that if you're in the breeding business, you want to have access to it. There are so many matriarchs in there. You can do a lot of creative things in breeding with him and because Arrogate is gone now, where are you going to find another one? We are so lucky to have him here.”

Arcangelo secures his position as the top 3-year-old colt of 2023 in the GI Travers S. | Sarah Andrew

Ingordo said he considers Arcangelo to be a better version of his sire physically.

“I'm a balance person and he's exceptionally well-balanced. He's got great proportions and a lovely shoulder. When you see him standing from the side, he's got all these great qualities and is even improved on what his sire had. When you look at his hip and how his hind leg sits, he's an improvement on his sire.”

Both Farish and Ingordo made a point of noting that based on the requests coming in from breeders, Arcangelo's first book is shaping up to include some intriguing matings.

Arcangelo's book of mares includes a lot of the best-producing mares that went to Arrogate himself because those mares probably would have been bred back to Arrogate had he been here,” explained Ingordo. “So we're getting a lot of graded stakes winners and producers, including some mares that have horses on the upswing on the Derby trail.”

“I think he represents a very interesting mating for people because he's pure dirt and that appeals to a lot of people,” added Farish. “The fact that he had the speed and precocity that he did and then the ability to carry it a distance also is really appealing to a lot of breeders.”

With a stud fee set at $35,000, Arcangelo joins Up to the Mark (Not This Time), who also brought home an Eclipse Award as champion turf male and is profiled by Chris McGrath here, as the newcomers to the Lane's End stud barn for 2024.

“I think Arcangelo could end up with a pretty tight, nice book of mares when this is all over because of the quality he's getting at the price point that he's at,” said Ingordo. “We think we stood him very reasonably and breeders are sending mares that would go to a horse double his stud fee. All of the right people are breeding to him and that's so important when you're trying to curate these stallion books. The right people bring the right mares and then do the right job with those offspring. That's what helps these horses make it as stallions.”

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Tears and Appreciation for Team Cody Carry the Evening at Eclipse Awards

Cody's Wish (Curlin) was crowned both 2023 Horse of the Year and Older Dirt Male champion at Thursday night's 53rd annual Eclipse Awards ceremony, and when Kelly Dorman, the father of the late Cody Dorman, accepted the evening's highest honor on behalf of owner/breeder Godolphin, the crowd at The Breakers Palm Beach in Florida met his brief pause to shed a few bittersweet tears with a standing ovation that gave him time to collect his thoughts and let the gravity of the moment sink in.

On the track, Cody's Wish thrilled his fans with a successful defense of his title in the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. But his story resonated far beyond the finish line thanks to the bond that began in 2018 when then-12-year-old Cody Dorman, who was born with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome, first met the then-unnamed yearling while touring Godolphin as part of a Make-A-Wish outing.

As Cody's Wish rose through the graded stakes ranks, the story of the inspirational teenager he was named after captivated a nation of racing enthusiasts. But the years-long emotional ride ended too soon, when Cody Dorman died Nov. 5 at age 17 on his way back home to Kentucky after witnessing Cody's Wish end his career triumphantly at Santa Anita in the Breeders' Cup just one day earlier.

“I never would have dreamed five years ago, when all this happened, that I would be standing right here doing this,” Kelly Dorman said. “I wouldn't have dreamed about the wonderful people we've met. But I hope you guys got a TV in front of the stall down at Jonabell right now, because I want to thank Cody's Wish for everything he's done.

“I know everyone here, you guys just blow me away, because I know you put your heart in these horses, day in, day out,” Dorman said. “That's your life. And I know a lot of times those horses put their heart into you–the jockeys, the trainers, the owners, everybody. And man, that horse, he put his heart into us…

“One of the best things to come out of this, other than the grit and determination, was we got to watch Cody's Wish run,” Dorman said. “I think he got that honest when they gave him his name. 'Can't' and 'quit' were two words that we never used, never will. You might think that horse can't talk, but he can. But he won't use those two words either. He always spoke to Cody…

“I want to let you guys know how much it means, the fans that have come up to us and let us know how much the story behind the wonderful horse means, and just so many wonderful people that we've gotten to meet through this, the wonderful connections we've made. It puts a smile on our face, day in and day out.”

NTRA photo

Earlier in the evening, when the story of Cody's Wish won the Moment of the Year award for the second straight season, Dorman recounted an old adage that he said was appropriate in how his son and family have been accepted and welcomed by the racing industry.

“Over time, people will eventually forget what you've done,” Dorman said. “They will eventually forget about the things that you've said. But they'll never forget how you made 'em feel. I know Cody made you guys feel that same way. But this Moment of the Year, it's for you guys too. You guys put so much in our hearts, everybody here in this room, watching on TV, we love all you guys. We appreciate that–thank you.”

Earlier in the ceremony, victories by Arcangelo (Arrogate) in the GI Belmont S. and GI Travers S. cemented champion 3-Year-Old Male honors for owner Blue Rose Farm (Jon Ebbert) and trainer Jena Antonucci, the first woman to condition the winner of a Triple Crown race.

The Arcangelo team | NTRA

“The greatest part of this sport is you just need one special horse and a bunch of people who believe in him,” Ebbert summed up.

Although the evening was replete with heartfelt thank-yous from award winners extending gratitude that spanned everyone who planned the Thoroughbred matings all the way down to foal caretakers and daily grooms who do the daily-grind type of work behind the scenes, several recipients couldn't resist a bit of forewarning about the future while commanding the podium.

Owner and breeder Mike Repole took home the hardware for champion 2-Year-Old Male for the second consecutive season, winning with Fierceness (City of Light) after being victorious last year with Forte (Violence). After doling out thanks to his racing and bloodstock teams, Repole overstayed his allotted 60 seconds at the podium by 2 1/2 additional minutes while advocating for disruptive yet positive changes to the industry.

Repole's passion was evident. But by choosing to punctuate his remarks with f-bomb profanities while surrounded by family members and children on the stage as “exit music” got cued up in the background to encourage him to wrap it up, Repole introduced a level of coarseness that didn't mesh with the spirit and tone of the festivities.

Mike Repole | NTRA

“Right now, this sport, we're all on the Titanic, okay?” Repole said. “There's an iceberg there. But we're not hitting the iceberg yet. We need a vision. We need leadership. We need alignment. We need strategy. We need collaboration. [From] the big entities [all the way down to individuals in the sport], we've got to make this better for everybody.

“So I implore you, please, for the next two years–other than me taking more time–be selfless over selfish,” Repole said. “That's number one. [But] this is the most important message of the night: Let's [expletive] compete in the racetrack. Outside the racetrack, let's compete together for what's best for this game. I love this [expletive] game. It's going to be here a long time.”

Stuart Janney III, the chairman of The Jockey Club, was honored with the Eclipse Award of Merit for his lifetime of service to the sport. He was thankful for his broad supporting cast, but he too had words about the tenuous future of the sport.

Like Repole, Janney spoke of cooperation. But his focus emphasized one of The Jockey Club's main initiatives over the past decade, creating and empowering the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA).

“Our industry's got a lot of issues that [we need] to get in front of and solve,” Janney said. “We've now been given the tool kit. We didn't have it before. With HISA, we can go forward, but we need to go forward together…. I hope that we have learned, as an industry, the advantages of being together, and that we really do go forward in a unified fashion…. And where racing's continuation is in question, in some states, we'll work with others to hopefully find viable solutions.”

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Arcangelo to Lane’s End on Retirement

Blue Rose Farm's Arcangelo (Arrogate–Modeling, by Tapit), a likely favorite for the upcoming GI Breeders' Cup Classic, will enter stud at Lane's End Farm at the conclusion of his racing career. The gray went to the head of the sophomore division with victories in the GI Belmont S. and GI Travers S. He also captured this year's GIII Peter Pan S.

“It has been a surreal experience to own a horse of this magnitude,” said owner Jon Ebbert. “The day I laid eyes on him at the yearling sale, I said to myself that this is the most beautiful horse I have ever seen. I'm so blessed the way everything unfolded and so appreciative of my team. To win the Belmont, the Travers and looking as the possible favorite in the Breeders' Cup is incredible. From the beginning of this journey, I tried to make every right decision for this horse, and now I have another important one to make. Upon his retirement, I've chosen Lane's End as the perfect fit for his stallion career.”

Trainer Jena Antonucci, who became the first woman to saddle the winner of a Triple Crown race when Arcangelo captured the Belmont, added, “Having the opportunity to steward Arcangelo thus far in his racing career has been the absolute blessing of a lifetime, for which I will be eternally grateful for. Watching him grow into his mental and physical greatness has been remarkable. We will be excited to see the talent of his progeny and watching Arcangelo pass along his innate ability, talent, and desire to be a champion.”

By champion Arrogate, the sire of five Grade I winners in his brief career at stud, Arcangelo was bred by Don Alberto Corporation. His dam Modeling, a $2.85-million Keeneland November broodmare purchase, is a half-sister to Streaming (Smart Strike), winner of the GI Hollywood Starlet S. She hails from the family of broodmare of the year and prolific producer Better Than Honour, the dam of back-to-back Belmont winners Rags to Riches and Jazil.

“Arcangelo's historic 3-year-old campaign fits a profile that we are very familiar with on our stallion roster,” said Lane's End's Bill Farish. “There's no doubt that Arrogate's brief career at stud has had a major impact on racing and the opportunity to stand a Classic-winning son of his with such a deep pedigree makes Arcangelo an exciting and unique prospect for Lane's End.”

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Arcangelo Connections First To Take The New Vocations Breeders’ Cup Pledge

New Vocations, the largest racehorse adoption agency in the country, has received its first pledge which was made by MGISW Arcangelo's (Arrogate) trainer Jena Antonucci and owner Jon Ebbert of Blue Rose Farm, the organization said in a release Wednesday morning.

This is the 14th annual Breeders' Cup Pledge, in which connections of Breeders' Cup contenders are encouraged to earmark a percentage of their championship earnings to support the charity's mission to rehabilitate, retrain and rehome retired racehorses. To date, the initiative has raised over $1,090,000 in support.

“It's no secret how important it is to our team that we continue to properly transition Thoroughbreds to their next careers,” said Antonucci. “The tireless work New Vocations does is and always has been leading this sector of the industry. We are proud to pledge our support for their continued work and commitment to ensuring the best placement through their program.”

“We are thrilled to have Jena and Jon's support in helping us launch this year's Pledge,” said Anna Ford, New Vocations' Thoroughbred Program Director. “The last two years have been very challenging as the costs associated with caring for the horses and running the program continue to increase.  The Pledge offers an easy way for owners and trainers to give back to the horses and support their transition into new careers.”

Last year's pledge raised over $140,000, in which over 60 championship contenders had owners and/or trainers who pledged a percentage of their Breeders' Cup earnings. The total from a year ago was driven by a record nine horses with pledging connections–Caravel (Mizzen Mast), Flightline (Tapit), Forte (Violence), Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper), Malathaat, Meditate (Ire) (No Nay Never), Tuesday (Galileo {Ire}), Victoria Road (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}) and Wonder Wheel (Into Mischief) –winning their races on Future Stars Friday and Championship Saturday.

New Vocations will continue to seek pledges from owners and trainers until Nov. 2. Click here for pledge information or by contact anna@horseadoption.com or carey@horseadoption.com.

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