ELMONT, N.Y. – When owner Jon Ebbert bought a son of Arrogate at the 2021 Keeneland yearling sale, he said his vision was to have a horse for the 2024 Breeders’ Cup. How he would get there and would he even be good enough to get there were unknowns. That son of Arrogate, now named Arcangelo, seems to have charted a different path for himself, Ebbert, and trainer Jena Antonucci. In his fourth career start – and his stakes debut – Arcangelo won the Grade 3 Peter Pan Stakes, a victory that literally helped pay his way to Saturday’s $1.5 million Belmont Stakes. Not ever thinking of running him in any of the classics for 3-year-olds, Ebbert didn’t nominate Arcangelo to the Triple Crown series for either the $600 fee that was due Jan. 28 or the $6,000 fee by the second closing, March 27. The latter deadline came nine days after Arcangelo won a one-mile maiden race at Gulfstream Park. Thus, Ebbert had to fork over a $50,000 supplemental fee to run in the Belmont. Arcangelo earned $110,000 for winning the Peter Pan. :: Bet the Belmont Stakes with confidence! Join DRF Bets and get a $250 deposit match bonus, $10 free bet, and FREE DRF Formulator! “He made the money, we’re going to go for it, we got faith in the horse,” Ebbert said. Ebbert, a real estate investor who lives in Pennsylvania, and Antonucci, a lifelong horsewoman who grew up in Florida, seem to have faith in each other. The two didn’t even know each until they met by chance at the Keeneland yearling sale of 2021. Antonucci was there with her business partner Katie Miranda, looking for possible horses to buy to pinhook. Ebbert was there to buy a horse sired by Classic Empire, but a yearling by Arrogate caught his eye. “I usually buy one horse. I bought two that year,” said Ebbert, who turns 40 years old on Tuesday. Ebbert spent $100,000 on the Classic Empire, $35,000 on the Arrogate. The horse by Classic Empire, Classic Bourbon, just ran second for maiden $16,000 claiming, is 0 for 8, and has earnings of $5,810. Arcangelo is now a graded stakes winner whose value is further enhanced as a son of the late Arrogate, whose progeny have begun to really shine. Ebbert said his first memory of horse racing came when he was 6 years old and was visiting his grandmother. When it was time to go to dinner, Ebbert’s grandmother said she couldn’t go. She had bets on the Kentucky Derby and wanted to watch the race. Winning Colors won. Ebbert didn’t remember if that’s who his grandmother bet. “I remember Lukas winning it with Winning Colors and it stuck with me,” Ebbert said. “I asked my parents for riding lessons when I was 8 years old.” Ebbert said the first horse he bought was in 2008 for $3,700. It was named Daydreamin Boy. He went 0 for 14 for Ebbert without hitting the board. Ebbert, who races under the name Blue Rose Farm, said he’s had a few runners over the years on the Pennsylvania circuit, but had more success breeding and pinhooking. :: Get ready for summer racing with a DRF Formulator Quarterly PP plan Antonucci, 47, grew up in Florida and was riding show horses when she was 2 1/2 years old. As she got older, Antonucci started re-training Thoroughbreds to become show horses. With a desire to learn more about the habits of a racehorse, Antonucci went to work on a farm to learn about breaking, training, and starting babies. “The intent was to bring it back to the show horse world so I could better and effectively re-train Thoroughbreds,” Antonucci said. “I fell in love with the speed, the athleticism, the perceived lack of politics.” Yes, Antonucci has a sense of humor. Antonucci, who broke horses for New York trainer Dominick Galluscio, began training on her own in 2010, winning with the second horse she ever started, Irish Wildcat, at Tampa Bay Downs. In 2012, she won her first stakes with the New York-bred Flattermewithroses and in 2013 she won two more stakes with Five Star Momma. In 2016, Antonucci won her first graded race with Doctor J Dub. While maintaining a string of her own horses at the track, Antonucci has a business partnership with Miranda called horseOlogy, based in Ocala, Fla., where they break and train horses for other trainers and prepare young horses for upcoming auctions. “I’m not interested in poaching their clients,” Antonucci said. “I want to create really good horses for them. Being on that side of it for so long, knowing what they’re going to need, helps me.” Antonucci, who has won 160 races in her career, said her goals have always been to put the horse first “and the results of your racing and the success and the accomplishments of your racing are going to be what they’re going to be,” she said. “I can’t make a horse faster if they’re not fast. I can’t make a horse – legally – a graded stakes horse if they’re not that horse.” Patience, Antonucci said, is paramount in developing young horses. Patience is what has helped bring Arcangelo to this moment. “I realized that a lot of trainers and other people aren’t as patient with horses and it cost me in the past,” Ebbert said. “I realized with this one, we’re going to take our time.” In Arcangelo, Antonucci saw a big, immature kid who had some ability, but wouldn’t get to show it if rushed. While she did bring him to Saratoga last summer to train – Antonucci said Arcangelo was getting bored on the farm – she never had any intention of racing him early. Arcangelo made his first start on Dec. 17 in a six-furlong race at Gulfstream finishing a rallying second. Four weeks later, encountering some traffic, Arcangelo finished fourth. Two months later, Arcangelo had his breakthrough win, capturing a mile maiden race at Gulfstream by 3 1/2 lengths. More than a week after that, Ebbert and Antonucci decided to point for the Peter Pan, with the idea being if he won it to aim for the Belmont. In the Peter Pan, Arcangelo outfought the lightly raced Bishops Bay to win by a head. “It told the world more than it told us,” Antonucci said. “We thought he was pretty special for some time and just letting him develop into that. The grit and determination in deep stretch, it’s the horse. That can’t be taught.” In Saturday’s Belmont, Arcangelo will be taking on the best in the 3-year-old division such as Forte, Tapit Trice, National Treasure, and Angel of Empire while Antonucci and Ebert will be facing the elite horsemen in the game in Todd Pletcher, Bob Baffert, Brad Cox, and Steve Asmussen, horsemen who have combined to win nine Belmont Stakes. “I think it’s awesome that Jena and I are in the race with Hall of Famers,” Ebbert said. “A $35,000 horse to be in the Belmont? You have to be a happy man.” Antonucci will be attempting to become the first female trainer to win the Belmont. Ten other women have tried, including Linda Rice, who has run in the race twice. “To have the opportunity as the [11th] female to do it is very special and meaningful,” Antonucci said. “Just the ground-breaking work that was done prior to me is invaluable. I’m forever grateful for what women before me have done to help pave the path. To steward this horse through his career and do my absolute best to make sure we listen to him is a gift and one we don’t take lightly.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.