Jockey Club Gold Cup 2024:
We’ve got Sunday Stakes at Saratoga this weekend with the G1 Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes. This is a “win and in” race for the Breeders’ Cup Classic, which is at Del Mar this year on November 2. As a result, we’ve got a lot of noteworthy contenders in the seven-horse field, as some of the top 3+ year-old horses run 1 ¼ mile around the New York dirt track.
Only two of the seven are coming off of a win, but we have good depth in the field and a lot of ways that this one could fall. This is Race 12 in the program and is set for a 6:15 p.m. ET post time on our final Sunday without the NFL until February.
Here are the Jockey Club Gold Cup entries, odds, jockeys, and trainers:
| Post | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Odds |
| 1 | Tapit Trice | T. Pletcher | I. Ortiz Jr. | 4-1 |
| 2 | Kuchar | R. Rodriguez | L. Saez | 30-1 |
| 3 | Bright Future | T. Pletcher | TBD | 10-1 |
| 4 | Disarm | S. Asmussen | J. Rosario | 8-1 |
| 5 | Pyrenees | C. DeVaux | B.J. Hernandez | 8-1 |
| 6 | Highland Falls | B. Cox | F. Prat | 5-1 |
| 7 | Arthur’s Ride | W. Mott | J. Alvarado | 4-5 |
The TBD on Bright Future is because Javier Castellano got caught up in the tragic Saranac Stakes on Friday, which saw him taken the hospital and racehorse The Big Torpedo euthanized on the track. Castellano was supposed to ride the 5-year-old from Pletcher’s barn, but he reportedly has a wrist injury.
Arthur’s Ride is an odds-on favorite here at 4-5, but there are a lot of stakes winners and strong 4-year-olds in this field that ran in Triple Crown races and other top events last year.
Here are some notes on the horses:
1. Tapit Trice (4-1; Pletcher/Ortiz Jr.): The son of Tapit and Danzatrice took down the win over Highland Falls in the Monmouth Cup last month at 1 ⅛ miles. It was the first race for the 4-year-old colt since August 26. He won the Tampa Bay Derby and Blue Grass Stakes before finishing seventh in the Kentucky Derby. He ran well in the Belmont and Travers with a couple of third-place efforts, but then had an extended layoff.
Irad Ortiz Jr. had his first mount on him in that Monmouth Cup run and his 106 Equibase Speed Figure was the best of his career. He’ll need to level up to win this race based on past history, but he seemed to come off the layoff very well.
2. Kuchar (30-1; Rodriguez/Saez): Longshot Kuchar ran fifth in that Monmouth Cup race, which was a Grade 3 field. The 5-year-old son of Uncle Mo is 0-for in stakes races, winning three allowances and a maiden out of 16 career starts. His top effort came in March at Aqueduct with a 107 Equibase Figure, but it looks like a stretch that he’ll be a factor here.
3. Bright Future (10-1; Pletcher/TBD): The reigning champ has a chance to defend his title here. Bright Future beat out Proxy and Tyson in this event last year for his third career win and first stakes triumph. He finished sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic before coming back to win the Salvator Mile in his 2024 debut. He was nowhere to be seen in the Whitney Stakes and that bumbling effort has punters understandably concerned.
That was the first time that Bright Future ran on a muddy track and he didn’t seem to take to it well. Showers are in the forecast on Saturday and overnight into Sunday, where the track is expected to have a chance to dry out. You may want to play it by ear here to see who gets the ride and what the track conditions are.
4. Disarm (8-1; Asmussen/Rosario): The question on everybody’s mind is whether or not Disarm is building towards a career-best run. In three starts this year, he’s finished first, sixth, and fourth, but has gone from 88 to 101 to 105 by Equibase Speed Figure. His career-high is 107 right now and that wouldn’t be enough, but if he can crack the 110s, he may have a shot.
That said, he was well behind Pyrenees in the Stephen Foster in June and looked nowhere near Arthur’s Ride in the Whitney. I do think he has a chance to hit the board, as the bloodline is strong and the trendline is positive.
5. Pyrenees (8-1; DeVaux/Hernandez): Timing is everything and I really wonder what Pyrenees might have done had he been able to run in the Triple Crown races last year. He had nearly a year off before winning in December at Fair Grounds to kick off a four-race winning streak, culminated by a trip to the winner’s circle in the Pimlico Special over a good horse in Kingsbarns.
Kingsbarns got revenge in the Stephen Foster six weeks later and now we have a well-rested son of Into Mischief taking aim at this race. Brian Hernandez Jr. has the ride here and he’s had quite the summer.
6. Highland Falls (5-1; Cox/Prat): Curlin is well-represented as a sire here with Bright Future and Highland Falls, who goes for Brad Cox and Godolphin in this one. In one data point at 1 ¼, Highland Falls finished fourth at the Santa Anita Handicap. This will be his first start at Saratoga. Curlin only had one start at Saratoga – a win in the Woodward Stakes back in 2008. Maybe his son will make this one count as well.
It is hard to know what we will get out of this horse. He’s finished second or better in four straight runs at 1 ⅛ miles and has a couple wins at 1 1/16, but the mile and a quarter is in question. Dam Round Pond won the 2006 Breeders’ Cup Distaff at 1 ⅛, so distance is in the genes. He’s had some great workouts at Saratoga of late and Flavien Prat teams up with Cox often on big contenders.
7. Arthur’s Ride (4-5; Mott/Alvarado): The horse to beat is the one on the far outside, as late-bloomer Arthur’s Ride comes in off of a huge effort in the Whitney. He also won back in June at a mile and a quarter here at Saratoga. The distance clearly isn’t a question with Tapit and Points of Grace for parents.
It’s hard to love the price here, but he does have the best current form with back-to-back 115 Equibase Figures and something in the low 110s would win this race. He’s likely to take the outside post and run unimpeded to the front. Can somebody catch him is the question?
Jockey Club Gold Cup Picks
Arthur’s Ride is very much a deserving favorite here, but I really do like Pyrenees. Cherie DeVaux isn’t having the biggest year, but Vahva, Shotgun Hottie, More Than Looks, and She Feels Pretty have all had big years and Pyrenees can add to what has been a good one with a nice victory in the Jockey Club Gold Cup.
Fow now, it’ll be just Pyrenees for me, but Bright Future is very intriguing if the track dries out and Castellano can come back for the ride.*
$15 Win ($15)
5 Pyrenees
$10 Win ($10)
3 Bright Future*
