BY AVALYN HUNTER
The brilliant Arrogate died when only seven and his premature death was a great loss to the Thoroughbred industry. Fortunately for Florida breeders, his bloodlines are still available through his classy son Mr Fisk, who is beginning his stud career at Pleasant Acres Stallions in 2025.
Mr Fisk showed rapid improvement after making his debut in October of his 2-year-old season and broke his maiden at Santa Anita on Jan. 2, 2023. Two starts later, he was second in the $100,000 Affirmed behind future Grade 1 TVG.com Haskell-winner Geaux Rocket Ride. After a rough trip in the $104,000 Caesars Sportsbook Oceanside at Del Mar in July, he bounced back in September to win the $125,000 Shared Belief in a dead heat with Tahoe Sunshine over a mile at the same track.
Some horses are knocked out by a hard race, but Mr Fisk came out of the Shared Belief better than ever. Seen next against his elders in the Grade 3 Native Diver going nine furlongs at Santa Anita, Mr Fisk closed his 2023 campaign by defeating the well-regarded Skinner and multiple Grade 2-winner Newgrange.
Mr Fisk disappointed in the San Pasqual (G2) over the same track and distance in January of 2024, but after nearly three months freshening, he tallied two sparkling wins. On April 20, he drove home to win the Grade 3 Californian at a mile-and-an-eighth at Santa Anita. One month and a day later, he scored with authority in the Grade 2 Hollywood Gold Cup in spite of a condylar fracture suffered during the running. The injury ended a career that had seen Mr Fisk improve with almost every race, a trend that might have made him a contender in the older male division had he been able to continue racing.
Raced as a homebred by Sunny Brook Stables, Mr Fisk is the first foal of Plein Air (Ire), a listed stakes winner in Italy and on the turf at Santa Anita. Her sire, Manduro (Ger), was rated the best Northern Hemisphere racehorse of 2007 by both Timeform and the World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings after scoring Group 1 wins at distances from 1,600 to 2,000 meters (about eight to 10 furlongs). The next dam, Too in Love (Ire), is a daughter of European champion and supersire Galileo (Ire). The female family is solid and includes European group winners War Declaration (Ire), Pride of Nation (Ire), Stemegna (GB), Senebrova (GB) and Senlis (Ire). Mr Fisk’s pedigree provides access to outcross lines through his dam while leaving him open to mares from the male lines of A.P. Indy, Danzig and Smart Strike, all of which did well with Arrogate.
“Mr Fisk is about 16.1 hands and is a beautiful horse—he’s an Arrogate, which is very attractive to breeders, but you can see a lot of Galileo coming through from his dam’s side,” Pleasant Acres Stallions stallion manager Christine Jones said. “He was very well received at our recent stallion show and we have great hopes for him.”
Mr Fisk will stand the 2025 season for $8,500 at Pleasant Acres Stallions.
