The Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes (G1) with a prize purse of $1 million on September 1 Saratoga Racetrack was always in the calendar for Arthur’s Ride .

It was the Whitney Stakes (G1) that was audible and resulted in a touchdown.

With a lead of 12 3/4 lengths in a one and a half mile Allowance Optional Claimer at Saratoga, Glassman Racing’s son of Tapit came to the lead and continued until he crossed the finish line 2 1/4 lengths ahead Crupi on a muddy track and turned the older dirt men’s division on its head.

Now comes the original target, the Jockey Club Gold Cup at a distance of 1 1/4 miles, which seems ideal for the long-winded speedster bred by Helen and Joseph Barbazon and the Tapit Syndicate.

A win on the final weekend of the Saratoga meet would make Arthur’s Ride the first winner of the Whitney and Jockey Club Gold Cup in the same year since Colonial Affair in 1994.

“We always thought he had the potential to be a good horse and he showed that in the Whitney,” said trainer Bill Mott. “We just hope he can repeat that race in the Gold Cup.”

The Whitney capped a five-race streak for Arthur’s Ride in which he recorded four wins. The Whitney was the stakes debut for the son of the Point Given mare Points of Grace and the only slip-up on the track dating back to February 11, 2023, was a ninth-place finish on a muddy, sealed track on May 3 at Churchill Downs.

The Jockey Club Gold Cup is part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series and automatically awards the winner a starting place in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) on November 2 in Del MarBut that’s no cause for concern for Arthur’s Ride, who has already secured a place in the Whitney, another Challenge Series race, and, if all goes well on Sunday, will have a shot at the $7 million Classic.

“We paid the entry fees, so the Breeders’ Cup is definitely an option,” said Mott, who has won the Jockey Club Gold Cup four times.

Arthur’s Ride was purchased by agent Donato Lanni at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale for $250,000 from the Gainesway consignment and realized $764,955.

Todd Pletcher sends the duo out Bright future And Tapit Trice in their quest to win the 106th edition of the JC Gold Cup for the second year in a row.

Bright Future, by Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables, won the 2023 Gold Cup and then finished sixth in the 1 1/4-mile Breeders’ Cup Classic.

He started the year 2024 with a win in the Salvator Mile Stakes (G3) on June 15 in Monmouth Park but then he finished eighth on the wet track at Whitney. Pletcher said he would give the 5-year-old son of Curlin for the race on Sunday.

“Bright Future won this race last year, but he wasn’t as successful in the Whitney. (Jockey Javier Castellano) seemed to think he couldn’t handle the track,” Pletcher said. “He came back with a nice breeze. Hopefully we can get a fast track and he can build on his performance from last year. He seems a little more focused with the blinkers on.”

Tapit Trice of Whisper Hill Farm and Gainesway Stable was one of the best three-year-olds in 2023 when he won the Blue Grass Stakes (G1) and finished third in both the Belmont Stakes (G1) and Travers Stakes (G1).

The son of Tapit returned after an 11-month layoff with a 5 1/4 length win in the Monmouth Cup Stakes (G3).

“I was very happy with Tapit Trice’s comeback win at Monmouth and he’s training exceptionally well for it,” said Pletcher, who is seeking his third Jockey Club Gold Cup victory. “The mile and a half should suit him.”

Among the seven horses is also the self-bred breed of Blue Heaven Farm. Pyrenees a son of Into disaster who finished second in the Stephen Foster Stakes (G1) at Churchill Downs and won the Pimlico Special Stakes (G3) in his last two starts for trainer Cherie DeVaux.