They don't have a season-ending award for the horse with the biggest heart, perhaps a policy that should be rethought. There are few things more admirable in this sport than the horse who refuses to lose and few horses that can match Arromanches' will to win. He may not be the fastest, most talented or even prettiest horse around, but he is special in his own way.

The next time Arromanches steps on to the track at Aqueduct you will notice a slight buzz from a crowd that usually has to be woken from its collective snooze. They will bet their money faithfully on him, knowing that he rarely lets his followers down and then they will watch in anticipation of what could be his ninth straight win.

"He is an amazing horse with amazing desire," said his former trainer Gary Contessa. "He's a win machine, just an incredible animal."

Eight straight wins may not seem like anything special, especially when stacked up against the 16-race winning streaks compiled lately by Cigar and Louisiana speed freak Hallowed Dreams. But their streaks came in stakes company, where they, more often than not, simply outclassed the competition. It's different with a claimer. Each week they are matched against similar competition and their owners must be careful not to pick soft spots or else their horses will be claimed away. Arromanches was favored in only four of the eight races during the streak.

"There's only one time that I can remember that a horse passed him in the stretch," former owner Dr. Steven Wolfe said. "He has the biggest heart of any horse I've ever owned and I've owned a lot of horses over the years."

An 8-year-old horse by Relaunch, Arromanches' career started off innocently enough Sent off at 18-1 in a July 14, 1995 maiden at Belmont, he lost by 15 3/4 lengths and followed that with a 7 3/4-length defeat in a Meadowlands maiden race.

It was around that time that he suffered one of the oddest injuries you'll ever see on the racetrack. According to Wolfe, when Arromanches was two he was kicked in the mouth by another horse. The result was a partially paralyzed jaw; Arromanches can only open his mouth about two inches.

"It's really tricky to get him where he can eat," Contessa said. "You have to treat him special and treat his food special, otherwise his food will go into his trachea instead of into his stomach. He's had a bunch of bad throat infections over the years because food will get caught in there. It's a mess when he eats. The food is everywhere, it's coming out of his mouth and he's coughing like crazy. But we got it all figured out."

Contessa said the key is to mash up the horse's food and wet down his hay. Arromanches collected his first win in his third career start, a $12,500 maiden claimer run June 24, 1996 at Delaware Park. He won four more times that year, giving a sneak preview of what was to come. There were four more wins in 1997, but only one in 1998. Ironically, that was the year he collected his only on-the-board performance in a stakes race, a third-place finish in the Paumonok Handicap.

He began this year with 16 wins from 58 career starts, a nice record but nothing compared to what was to come. He began the streak May 27, when he won a $35,000 claimer at Monmouth for trainer Danny Lopez. Four wins later, all of them at Monmouth, he was claimed for $35,000 by Contessa and Wolfe. It was the second time that Contessa had claimed him and the third time by Wolfe, who once used trainer Mitch Friedman. Contessa brought Arromanches back to New York, where he won $50,000 claimers in September and October.

Watching intently on the sidelines was owner Rick Englander. He, too, had had Arromanches in his stable, owning him for two starts, both wins, before losing him through the claiming box. In the Oct. 14 race at Belmont, Arromanches defeated Englander's Esteemed friend. The leading owner in the country, Englander had seen enough. He claimed him for $50,000 Nov. 11 when he beat, once again, Esteemed Friend.

"You can't imagine how much I admire this horse," Englander said. "He's won eight straight and has won 26 times in his life. Horses like him are what this game is all about. To hell with those horses, like the ones in California who run three times a year and everybody is happy to win one race. I'm honored to have this horse. I hope I can keep him."

That's unlikely. Wolfe wants him back and there isn't a claiming trainer in New York who doesn't like a horse who does nothing but win, even if he is a few weeks shy of his ninth birthday. Arromanches is now trained by Scott Lake, who will likely run him back in New York against another field of high-classed claimers.

It will probably be a tough spot. Arromanches will definitely run his guts out.