He may have retired from racing, but that hasn’t stopped Arrogate scooping up more silverware.
The American colt was named as the Longines World’s Best Racehorse for a second year in a row at a lavish awards ceremony in London’s Claridge’s hotel Tuesday.
The Bob Baffert-trained star won Flat racing’s highest honor ahead of Australian mare Winx, which is on a 22-race winning streak.
Arrogate, owned by the Juddmonte Farms operation, backed up his victory in the 2016 Breeders’ Cup Classic by winning the record $7 million first prize in the inaugural Pegasus World Cup in January 2017, beating arch-rival California Chrome for the second straight race in their final duel.
He then went on to clinch the Dubai World Cup in March, completing a run of seven straight wins and becoming the highest-earning racehorse ever.
The Mike Smith-ridden Arrogate was fourth and second in its next two starts before finishing its career with a joint fifth alongside Gunnevera in November’s Breeders’ Cup Classic behind winner Gun Runner.
Arrogate has now taken up residence at Juddmonte Farms’ stud in Kentucky where his career as a stallion will begin in February.
Arc triumphs
Winx, which was third in the awards last year, won nine times in 2017 and is Australia’s highest earning horse ever.
Joint third in the this year’s awards were Gun Runner and British colt Cracksman, winner of October’s Champions Stakes.
The rankings are determined by international handicappers in relation to the performance of horses in elite races across the globe.
The Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Europe’s richest race with a purse of five million euros ($6.1M), claimed the title of Longines World’s Best Horse Race.
The Paris classic has been staged at Chantilly for the last two years while its traditional home Longchamp underwent a €130 million ($145 million) revamp.