Two-time Canadian champion STARSHIP JUBILEE, who worked a sizzling four furlongs on Saturday at Gulfstream Park on the dirt, 47.58, will not take part in the Jan. 25 Pegasus Turf but instead go for her 3rd straight Sunshine Millions Filly & Mare Turf Jan. 18.
Owned by Blue Heaven Farm and trained by Kevin Attard, the millionaire, Grade 1 winner, in line to win another Sovereign for Turf Female and a major contender for Horse of the Year for 2019, had been invited to the Pegasus Turf against the boys.
Both the Pegasus Turf and World Cup Invitational had deletions and new invitees for the races announced this weekend:
Graded-stakes winners Tenfold and Midcourt and Grade 1-placed Bodexpress, a popular local favorite, were added Sunday to the formal list of horses invited to the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) Saturday, Jan. 25 at Gulfstream Park.
The 1 1/8-mile Pegasus for 4-year-olds and up on the main track is part of the Pegasus World Cup Championship Invitational Series along with the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) for 4-year-olds and up at 1 3/16 miles on the grass, which also saw changes to its list of invitees.
Overall, the Pegasus World Cup Day program will serve up nine stakes, six graded, worth $5.2 million in purses.
The Stronach Group, owners of the Pegasus World Cup Championship Invitational Series, announced the equine athletes in both races would compete free of any medications on race day, heralding a new era in the sport of Thoroughbred racing in North America. The medication-free policy is consistent with the International Federation of Horse Racing Authorities (IFHA) standards. Two percent of the purses will go back to Thoroughbred aftercare.
C R K Stable’s Midcourt, based in California with trainer John Shirreffs, was placed among a dozen horses on the main list. A 5-year-old son of champion sprinter Midnight Lute, Midcourt put together four straight wins last summer and fall capped by the Native Diver (G3) Nov. 23 Del Mar. Most recently, he finished third in the San Antonio (G2) Dec. 28 at Santa Anita.
Also new to the Pegasus lineup are Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC’s Tenfold and Top Racing LLC, Global Thoroughbreds LLC and GDS Racing Stable’s Bodexpress, each added to the list of reserve invitees.
Winner of the 2018 Jim Dandy (G2) and 2019 Pimlico Special (G3) and third by a half-length to eventual Triple Crown champion Justify in the 2018 Preakness (G1), Tenfold is trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, who won the second renewal of the Pegasus in 2018 with 2017 Horse of the Year Gun Runner.
Bodexpress, trained by Gulfstream Park West-based Gustavo Delgado, ran second behind Maximum Security in the Xpressbet.com Florida Derby (G1) last spring and made headlines after losing Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez at the start of the Preakness. After some time off, he returned with back to back victories against maiden special weight and allowance company prior to a third-place finish in the Harlan’s Holiday (G3) Dec. 14 at Gulfstream.
Maximum Security, Gift Box, Roadster and Bravazo are no longer on the list of invitees
Three horses that had been on the reserve list were moved up to the main body of the race – Diamond Oops, True Timber and War Story. Imaginary Stables and Glenn Ellis’ War Story, a multiple graded-stakes winner of nearly $3 million, ran fifth and 10th, respectively, in the 2017 and 2018 Pegasus.
Calumet Farm’s True Timber has placed in seven career graded-stakes including the Cigar Mile (G1), where he ran second in 2018 and third behind Maximum Security Dec. 7 in his most recent start. In 2019, Diamond 100 Racing Club LLC, Amy Dunne, D P Racing LLC and Patrick Biancone Racing LLC’s Diamond Oops won the Smile Sprint (G3) and Mr. Prospector (G3) in 2019 at Gulfstream, the latter over Imperial Hint, and was second in the A.G. Vanderbilt (G1) and Shadwell Turf Mile (G1).
OMAHA BEACH, the likely favourite, had a big workout on Sunday, Jan. 12 at Gulfstream. Trainer Richard Mandella said, “It went nice. He missed a few days last week and missed a work, but no big deal. We’ve got time. We’ll get another one next week, in six or seven days, and I think we’ll be ready to go.”
This is the last career race for Omaha Beach before he goes to stud.
HORSE – OWNER – TRAINER
DIAMOND OOPS DIAMOND 100 RACING CLUB LLC, AMY E. DUNNE, D P RACING LLC, AND PATRICK L. BIANCONE RACING LLC PATRICK L. BIANCONE
HIGHER POWER HRONIS RACING, LLC JOHN W. SADLER
MATH WIZARD JOHN FANELLI, KHALID MISHREF, CASH IS KING LLC, LC RACING LLC, COLLARMELE VITELLI STABLES LLC, IOANNIS ZOUMAS, AND BASSETT STABLES SAFFIE A. JOSEPH, JR.
MCKINZIE C R K STABLE LLC JOHN A. SHIRREFFS
MR FREEZE JIM BAKKE AND GERALD ISBISTER DALE ROMANS
OMAHA BEACH FOX HILL FARMS, INC. RICHARD E. MANDELLA
SEEKING THE SOUL CHARLES E. FIPKE DALLAS STEWART
SPUN TO RUN ROBERT P. DONALDSON JUAN CARLOS GUERRERO
TAX R.A. HILL STABLE, REEVES THOROUGHBRED RACING, HUGH LYNCH, AND CORMS RACING STABLE DANNY GARGAN
TRUE TIMBER CALUMET FARM KIARAN MCLAUGHLIN
WAR STORY IMAGINARY STABLES AND GLENN K. ELLIS ELIZABETH DOBLES
RESERVE INVITEES IN ORDER OF PREFERENCE
MUCHO GUSTO MICHAEL LUND PETERSEN BOB BAFFERT
MAGIC WAND (IRE) MICHAEL B. TABOR, DERRICK SMITH, MR. AND MRS. JOHN MAGNIER AIDAN P. O’BRIEN
TENFOLD WINCHELL THOROUGHBREDS LLC STEVEN A. ASMUSSEN
BODEXPRESS TOP RACING LLC, THOROUGHBREDS LLC, AND GDS RACING STABLE GUSTAVO DELGADO
PEGASUS TURF
In the Pegasus Turf, Amerman Racing’s Admission Office and Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables LLC, Wonder Stables and Bethlehem Stables LLC’s Sacred Life were moved up from the also-eligible list to the main list of invitees.
Admission Office is five-time stakes-placed, four in graded company, most recently in the Dec. 14 Fort Lauderdale (G2) at Gulfstream. Sacred Life won the Prix Thomas Bryon (G3) as a 2-year-old in his native France and owns one win from four starts in the U.S., finishing second in the Bernard Baruch (G2) and Seabiscuit handicaps last year.
New to the list of Turf invitees are Pin Oak Stable’s Synchrony, Jordan Wycoff’s Tusk and Calumet Farm and John Anthony Stables LLC’s American Tattoo.
Synchrony is a career nine-time winner of nearly $1 million in purses, taking the King Edward (G2) and Fair Grounds Handicap (G3) last year. Tusk, by Tapit, earned his eighth lifetime win and first in graded-stakes company in the one-mile Tropical Turf (G3) Jan. 11 at Gulfstream. A Group 1 winner in his native Argentina, American Tattoo most recently won the two-mile H. Allen Jerkens Stakes Dec. 28 at Gulfstream.
United, Starship Jubilee, A Thread of Blue and Lucullan are no longer on the list of Turf invitees
HORSE OWNER TRAINER
ADMISSION OFFICE AMERMAN RACING LLC BRIAN A. LYNCH
ARKLOW DONEGAL RACING, JOSEPH BULGER, AND PETER CONEWAY BRAD H. COX
CHANNEL CAT CALUMET FARM TODD A. PLETCHER
HENLEY’S JOY BLOOM RACING STABLE LLC MICHAEL J. MAKER
INSTILLED REGARD OXO EQUINE LLC CHAD C. BROWN
MAGIC WAND (IRE) MICHAEL B. TABOR, DERRICK SMITH, AND MRS. JOHN MAGNIER AIDAN P. O’BRIEN
MO FORZA BARDY FARM AND OG BOSS PETER MILLER
NEXT SHARES DEBBY BALTAS, RICHARD BALTAS, CHRISTOPHER T. DUNN, JULES IAVARONE, MICHAEL IAVARONE, JERRY MCCLANAHAN, RITCHIE ROBERSHAW, AND MARK TAYLOR RICHARD BALTAS
SACRED LIFE (FR) MICHAEL DUBB, MADAKET STABLES LLC, WONDER STABLES, BETHLEHEM STABLES LLC CHAD C. BROWN
SADLER’S JOY WOODSLANE FARM THOMAS ALBERTRANI
WITHOUT PAROLE (GB) JOHN D. GUNTHER AND TANYA GUNTHER CHAD C. BROWN
ZULU ALPHA MICHAEL M. HUI MICHAEL J. MAKER
RESERVE INVITEES IN ORDER OF PREFERENCE
MR. MISUNDERSTOOD FLURRY RACING STABLES LLC BRAD H. COX
SYNCHRONY PIN OAK STABLE MICHAEL STIDHAM
TUSK JORDAN V. WYCOFF SAFFIE A. JOSEPH, JR.
AMERICAN TATTOO (ARG) CALUMET FARM AND JOHN TODD A. PLETCHER
The 2020 Pegasus World Cup Championship Invitational Series will offer a world-class level of safety and care for horses and riders along with a unique and fully engaging experience for fans and guests, both at the racetrack and online. Since it was launched in 2017, the Pegasus World Cup has become one of the most anticipated events on the racing calendar. It has captured the attention of the racing industry, celebrities and fans from around the world and has featured some of the finest international and domestic runners, including Bricks and Mortar and Pegasus World Cup winners Arrogate (2017), Gun Runner (2018) and City of Light (2019).
The 2020 Pegasus World Cup Championship Invitational Series will be broadcast live on NBC from 4:30 to 6 p.m. EST on Saturday, January 25.
Click here to see the Past Performances.
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