Accelerate stunned overwhelming favorite Arrogate on Saturday to win the US$300,000 San Diego Handicap by eight-and-a-half lengths at Del Mar, California, snapping the seven-race winning streak of the world’s top-ranked horse.
Arrogate finished fourth, beaten by fifteen-and-one-quarter lengths under jockey Mike Smith in the four-year-old colt’s return to racing after a nearly four-month layoff.
Trainer Bob Baffert said Arrogate “laid an egg” and nothing is wrong with the colt other than he appeared flat.
Photo: AP
Ridden by Victor Espinoza, Accelerate ran 7.7km in 1 minute and 42.15 seconds and paid US$17.6, US$32.6 and US$22 as the seven-to-one second choice in the field of five.
Donworth, a 24-1 shot, returned US$119.8 and US$67.4. His payoffs were a track record, bettering the old mark of US$101.6 and US$40.2 set by Cipria on Sept. 1, 1955.
All but US$214,466 of the US$2,671,938 total win, place and show pool wagering was bet on Arrogate.
Arrogate’s winning streak included the US$6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic last year, the US$12 million Pegasus World Cup and the US$10 million Dubai World Cup. He earned US$18,000, boosting his career total to US$17,102,600, a North American record.
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