Arromanches Remembered

Yesterday's first race was named in honor of Aqueduct hero Arromanches "the horse that refuses to lose". Arromanches hasn't been seen near Aqueduct in 8 years but he is not forgotten. His regular jockey CC Lopez still has affection for Arromanches “I rode him for nearly everybody that had him – and I can’t tell you how many people had him – and he made money for all of them. I was very fortunate – he was a great horse to ride and I really loved him.”

Horses like Arromanches are the heart and soul of the game. Arromanches compiled a record of 31 wins, 15 places and 9 shows over 73 starts with earnings of $807,924. His 15 minutes of fame grew out of a 10 race win streak during 2001-2002. Like fine wine Arromanches improved as he got older; his win streak spanned his 8 and 9 year old seasons. If every thoroughbred was as honest and as durable as Arromanches the game would be much more interesting. When Arromanches went to stud he was relegated to the backwater of West Virginia. Just when slots fueled breeding activity in West Virgina picked up Arromanches was shifted to Indiana. While we can only assume that he is being personally cared for he has been all but ignored by the breeding market. Why would horse breeders not want the qualities of soundness, gameness and honesty bred into their foals? He only had 17 runners in 2009 with 12 winners-an excellent percentage- while standing for a rock-bottom fee of $750. Arromanches deserves better and the thoroughbred deserves better. Horses like this should appear more frequently in the pedigree book.

Racing has developed many of the same afflictions plaguing modern culture. There is entirely too much focus on quick thrills, fickle fashion that lacks substance while ignoring the virtues of "Arromanches" hard earned excellence. It was this instant gratification culture that doomed Arromanches to a lonely career at stud. Fashion dictates that only precocious two year old stakes winners or a flash in the pan derby trail horses are successful at stud. Horses like Arromanches that have soundness and race year after year are cast aside and removed from the gene pool. In their stead horses with known soundness issues like Unbridled's Song -think Eight Belle's, Old Fashioned, Dunkirk, Winslow Homer) propagate.

Arromanches was a true champion horse; a horse that had gameness, soundness and a heart as big as the racetrack. His mettle was not proven in one huge performance but over a body of work that spanned seven years of racing. It was nice of the NYRA to remember one of our favorites.