What happens when a race horse decides to pick up a little speed

It was a scene right out of a movie. Even with promise, it was thrilling to watch this powerful colt at the Dubai World Cup claim his place at the head of the pack

Coming into the Dubai World Cup, Arrogate's qualities were quite an open book. He came in with a reputation of being amazingly quick, his big strides where he could cover more ground, adding to that. His endurance too was well known, with his jockey Mike Smith saying he had the 'lungs forever'.
But then, nothing comes easy on a platter and a race is still a race, and it still has to be won. And going by that start at the Meydan Racecourse on Saturday night, it seemed that the preceding overcast weather had translated into a bit of a nightmare for Arrogate's saddler Bob Baffert.
Baffert, who had successfully overseen Silver Charm and Captain Steve in 1998 and 2001 respectively at the Dubai World Cup, almost second-guessed himself, on his decision to bring the son of Unbridled's Song, to Dubai.
Arrogate had made a mess of the start, breaking gingerly out of Gate 9 after the assistant starter had left him to his own devices despite Smith asking him to hold his head straight. As the rest of the 13 horses were off the blocks and were disappearing into the distance, Arrogate, dubbed the world's best horse, was reduced to being a mere onlooker.
For Baffert - who had had a heart attack when he was here in Dubai five years ago - his heart must have skipped a beat. And so too, for jockey Mike Smith, who was atop Arrogate. It was all unravelling right in front of them and the favourite, was favourite no more, and sensing their chance, the rest of the pack sped away.
But then, like they say, "It ain't over until it's over." And Arrogate is not just any other race horse and the four-year-old read the situation well and did what he does best - race.
It is perhaps tough to know what's on an animal's mind, let alone a horse, but they do have an inkling of what's about to happen. But the most amazing quality is how they would react to it.
Here too, Arrogate could have just tried to be in the mix for minor placings, or even, given up. But Arrogate did none of that and he reacted in such a way that belied his age. Arrogate picked himself and dusted himself off before fire-fighting his way. He also calmed Smith's nerves and the pair went about damage control, first up.
And then, slowly, they picked the field, one by one, across the 2000 metres. The sense of relief for the rest of the 13 runners was short-lived as Arrogate lurked dangerously across the eye.
And before they knew it, he had swooped in, like a vulture does to its prey, and gone away with it. The lead pack felt like they had candy stolen away from them at school.
At the end of it all, as Smith and his mount Arrogate returned to the winners' enclosure, there was mud smeared on both their faces - the kickbacks from the Meydan dirt.
They had just come away from a battle, with their reputation intact. It was an astonishing race and come to think of it, from that horror of a start, Arrogate went on to win by two-and-a-quarter lengths over Gun Runner.
Smith admitted later that his heart did skip a couple of beats. "Bob (Baffert) had a heart attack last time he was here and I think I had one too. I had to hit my heart about three times to get it pumping after that start," said the ace jockey, whose mind went back to Zenyatta, the mare known for her similar finishes.
It was the first time Arrogate had found himself in this situation where he had to fight from the back and he brought his 'A' game on the night.
If you look back at videos of his previous three big wins - the Travers Stakes, Breeders' Cup Classic and the Pegasus World Cup - it goes to show that Arrogate just loves to race. And his exploits at Meydan just reinforced that.
Those two minutes, two seconds and 15^th of a second across the 2000 metres, was a story in itself. And after conquering the United States, Arrogate, in Smith's words, is the world's horse now.
James lives and breathes sports. When the fancy strikes, he can churn out some memorable local stories
james@khaleejtimes.com