In good company: six defeats that stunned US racing

Just what is it about the summer holidays and US racing's great champions? Even before Arrogate's shocking defeat at Del Mar, any list of the sport's highest-profile defeats would include several during what is traditionally known as the silly season by news outlets. Remarkably, five of the six included here occurred in the month of August – or perhaps not quite so remarkably, given that the Triple Crown might well have taken its toll, and Saratoga and Del Mar, two of the most prestigious venues in the nation, are both in action throughout featuring the best horses in the land.

Man o' War
Sanford Stakes, Saratoga (August 1919)

The legendary Man o' War, ranked number one in the Blood-Horse's list of Top 100 US Racehorses of the 20th century, was beaten only once in a 21-race career when, after a poor start, he went down by a neck to Upset (received 15lb) in the Sanford for two-year-olds. Although the winner was appropriately named, it is a racing myth that he was responsible for use of the word 'upset' in a sporting context as the term was in use at least half a century earlier. Man o' War won his other nine juvenile starts; he met Upset six more times and never again finished behind him.

Gallant Fox
Travers Stakes, Saratoga (August 1930)

Gallant Fox won nine of his ten races as a three-year-old during his Triple Crown season of 1930 but in Saratoga's misdummer highlight he was beaten into second by 100-1 shot Jim Dandy, who hadn't won in his previous 14 but relished a muddy track and scored by three lengths. Trainer Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons blamed the state of the ground and said the horse had run only at the insistence of his owner. The winner is honoured in next weekend's Jim Dandy Stakes, the premier Saratoga trial for the Travers.

Citation
Chesapeake Trial Stakes, Havre de Grace (April 1948)

Citation, the shining star in the Calumet Farm firmament, was considered unbeatable and lost only two out of 28 starts during his two- and three-year-old campaigns. Sent off 1-4 in this six-furlong event on his first outing under new jockey Eddie Arcaro, he got a bump and then could not reel in the cheaply bought Saggy, who got the lead in the mud at the now defunct Baltimore venue Havre de Grace. Citation was not beaten again for almost two years, winning 16 straight races (including the Triple Crown) after the Saggy debacle as he earned a place in racing folklore.

Secretariat
Whitney Handicap, Saratoga (August 1973)

Not for nothing is Saratoga known as the Graveyard of Champions. Just a few weeks after his Triple Crown romp in 1973, even the great Secretariat got into trouble here, beaten a length at 1-10 in a notorious defeat at the hands of little-known front-runner Onion in the Whitney. Carrying the same weight, Onion grabbed the lead at the first turn and then fended off the champion as he weakened in the stretch to score at 13-1. His trainer Allen Jerkens became famed as the 'Giant Killer' – and in September, he saddled another horse, Prove Out, to beat Secretariat at Belmont.

Cigar
Pacific Classic, Del Mar (August 1996)

Arrogate's are by no means the first superstar's colours to be lowered at the racetrack where the surf meets the turf. Having compiled a historic winning streak featuring victories in the Breeders' Cup Classic and inaugural Dubai World Cup, the great Cigar was 1-10 to claim his 17th consecutive success in Del Mar's signature contest. Hooked three wide in a speed duel with main rivals Siphon and Dramatic Gold, he had nothing left to repel 40-1 shot Dare And Go, who passed him close home to win by three and a half lengths. Despite a record crowd of more than 40,000, you could have heard a pin drop.

American Pharoah
Travers Stakes, Saratoga (August 2015)

The most recent Triple Crown hero to come unstuck at the Spa. American Pharoah was sent off a generous-looking 7-20 favourite for Arrogate's trainer Bob Baffert in the Travers, only for late-running 16-1 chance Keen Ice to claw his way past inside the final furlong as his stamina came into play. Apart from his career debut, it was the only time American Pharaoh was ever beaten – and this by a horse he had two and a quarter lengths behind him three weeks previously in a comfortable victory in the Haskell at Monmouth Park. Baffert praised his horse's guts, suggesting too much travelling across the country had sapped his energy. He may have been right: American Pharaoh slammed his rivals (including Keen Ice) in the Breeders' Cup Classic to complete a Grand Slam.