'If Harrogate's a quarter as good as Arrogate he'll be alright'

Betfred TV British Stallion Studs EBF Novice Stakes | 6f | RUK

Arrogate, eh? They have the cheek to name a horse after one of our own fair towns and can't even spell it right.

We'll show them. Give me a proper Harrogate, with the proper spelling, and then those Americans can see what a real Yorkshire racehorse looks like.

Actually, forget all that. That's not the story behind the colt named after the North Yorkshire spa town at all.

And the fact that he makes his debut on Thursday, just nine days before his near namesake has the latest race of a career that has propelled him to Breeders' Cup Classic and Dubai World Cup Glory is entirely coincidental.

Asked about the naming of the Harrogate, who launches his own career in a 6f novice event at Haydock, trainer James Bethell said on Wednesday: "There's no connection at all. We name a lot of our horses after local places and tried Harrogate this time. It's the luck of the draw."

The two-year-old cost 60,000gns as a yearling and Bethell, who trains around 30 miles from Harrogate in Middleham, said: "We think he's quite nice but this is a tough race and I should think the ground will be pretty soft tomorrow.

"He's very nicely bred and he's going nicely at home. But mine normally need a run first time out and are normally fairly green, and I'd have preferred to run him over five furlongs first time out but there aren't many races around.

"I hope he'll run well – and if he's a quarter as good as Arrogate he'll be alright, won't he?"