By Duane Fonseca -
Godolphin homebred Highland Falls turned himself into a Saratoga legend on Sunday when winning the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup by outlasting Arthur’s Ride in an intensely-contested match-race, which added a first-ever Grade 1 success to his resume.
Sent out a heavy favourite on the back of his dominant two-and-a-half success in the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes over a slightly-shorter 1800m strip at the same venue four weeks earlier, Arthur’s Ride was expected to dominate and leapt to hit the front in the hands of Junior Alvarado.
However, Prat was more calculative and let him enjoy the lead, while plying his trade aboard Highland Falls in his shadow. The pair continued to put pressure on the leaders, with Prat giving his mount a nudge approaching the final turn. That was all Highland Falls needed as he drew level with Arthur’s Ride. The pair entered the straight simultaneously, but Highland Falls clearly had more left in the tank and that proved crucial allowing him to kick clear in the final furlong and win with four to spare from Cherie DeVaux’s Pyrenees, the ride of Brian Joseph Hernandez. A further two and three quarters behind in third was Disarm for Steve Asmussen and Joel Rosario.
Pyrenees and Disarm both benefited from the pressure Highland Falls put on Arthur’s Ride, who eventually finished fifth in the field of seven.
Prat, making the most of a spare ride as he replaced Florent Geroux, who committed himself to riding at Kentucky Downs, said: “I thought if one horse could handle the distance it was him. We wanted to break running and then try to make it a good pace.”
Highland Falls’ trainer Brad Cox added: “I was proud of the effort today. We always thought he was a mile-and-a-quarter horse. We gave him a shot (in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap) and he really didn't get involved. He probably lacked the seasoning.”
Victory helped booked Highland Falls a spot in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar on November 2 and connections are excited about their homebred.
Godolphin USA Director of Bloodstock, Michael Banahan said: “We were hoping he would be a Kentucky Derby horse but he was late developing. So, we had to give him time and he had to learn on the job to get here. But it paid off. We bred him to win races like this. This has been our race (target) since the spring.
“Del Mar may be different, but we'll go there with a big bat and take a swing.”
