WEDNESDAY NEWS

 

TAKING FLIGHT – PEGASUS WORLD CUP DAY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Horse racing lovers will be in dream land on Saturday as the Pegasus World Cup card at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale, Fla., offers a stunning card of 12 races headlined by the $9 million Cup and the $ 7 million Turf.

There are a litany of Canadian-bred, or owned stars competing on the day as well.
Post time for the first race Saturday 11:30 a.m. with the Pegasus World Cup scheduled for 5:40 p.m.

The racing will overpower the back story of the counter-suit Belinda Stronach, daughter of the track’s owner Frank, who is embroiled in a fight for control of The Stronach Group. Belinda’s countersuit made headlines on Wednesday:  (https://www.canadianbusiness.com/business-news/belinda-stronach-countersues-father-frank-as-family-legal-feud-continues/)

But the show goes on at GUlfstream with the 3rd Pegasus, a race that was created by Stronach to attract big name horses in the quiet of the winter season.

The race began as a $12 million event, then $16 million last year and is $9 million this year as $7 million goes to the newly created Pegasus Turf.

Thoroughblog will have some picks and notes in its Friday post (which is part of the bi-weekly eNews mailing for subscribers).

Canadians will get to see some of their favourite homebreds. In addition to Stronach’s Ontario bred SOMETHING AWESOME, who will be in the World Cup (but has not raced in Canada since the outset of his career) there are Queen’s Plate, Prince of Wales and Breeders’ Stakes winners on the card (see below).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PEGASUS WORLD CUP
Post time: 5:40 p.m. Saturday at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla. Purse: $9 million. Grade: 1. Distance: 1 1/8 miles. TV: NBC (4:30-6 p.m.).

Horse, trainer, jockey, morning-line odds

1. Bravazo, D. Wayne Lukas, Luis Saez, 12-1

2. Something Awesome, Jose Corrales, Edgar Prado, 20-1

3. City of Light, Mike McCarthy, Javier Castellano, 5-2

4. Seeking the Soul, Dallas Stewart, John Velazquez, 12-1

5. Accelerate, John Sadler, Joel Rosario, 9-5

6. Tom’s D’Etat, Al Stall Jr., Shaun Bridgmohan, 20-1

7. True Timber, Kiaran McLaughlin, Joe Bravo, 30-1

8. Gunnevera, Antonio Sano, Irad Ortiz, 8-1

9. Kukulkan, Fausto Gutierrez, Frankie Dettori, 30-1

10. Audible, Todd Pletcher, Flavien Prat, 10-1

11. Imperative, Anthony Quartarolo, Tyler Gaffalione, 30-1

12. Patternrecognition, Chad Brown, Jose Ortiz, 10-1

 

Hronis Racing LLC’s Accelerate will make the final start of his career when he meets 11 rivals in Saturday’s $9 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) at Gulfstream Park in an attempt to become the third straight Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) winner in a row to capture North America’s richest race.

John Sadler-trained Accelerate, who capped a sensational 2018 season with a length triumph in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs Nov. 3, has been rated as the 9-5 morning-line favorite in a field of 12 and will break from the No. 5 post position.

The 6-year-old son of Lookin At Lucky showed talent right from the start of his career, debuting at Los Alamitos on April 17, 2016 and finishing second, a neck ahead of third-place finisher Arrogate, who would go on to capture the inaugural running of the Pegasus World Cup in 2018. The Sadler trainee returned later in the year to win the Los Alamitos Derby (G2) before capping his 3-year-old campaign at Santa Anita with a third-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1), a neck behind runner-up Gun Runner, who went on to win the 2017 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar and last year’s Pegasus World Cup.

Accelerate has kept the best of company thoroughout his career and has fared extremely well but not nearly as dominating as he was during his 2018 campaign, in which he won six of seven starts, notched four Grade 1 victories, highlighted by his triumph in the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) at Churchill Downs. In 22 starts, Accelerate has won 10 times, including eight stakes, and finished second or third in 10 other races, amassing career earnings of $5,792,480.

“He was a little late getting to the races. He got to the races as a 3-year-old. He was a stakes winner at 3 and he was a stakes winner at 4, but his year, at 5, he really took off. He showed he could go the classic distance in America of a mile and a quarter,” said Sadler, whose stable star won four times at the 1 ¼-mile distance last season. “He had the maturity to do it and keep doing it.”

Accelerate, a lock to be honored as the outstanding older horse in 2018 at Thursday’s Eclipse Awards dinner in Gulfstream’s Sport of Kings Theater, compiled a Horse of the Year-caliber record last year but has imposing competition for Thoroughbred racing’s top honor in 2018 Triple Crown champion Justify.

“I have nothing but respect for the other horse, obviously. He’s an undefeated Triple Crown winner, and I saw him breeze all winter at Santa Anita, my home base, so I’m pretty familiar with him. He’s a great horse,” Sadler said. “That being said, my horse was a great horse last year. He won at a mile and a quarter four times. In the handicaps, he was always the highweight. In the weight-for-ages, he was always giving weight. He spotted weight to all his rivals, which means something at a mile and a quarter, being so dominant.

“We laid out a script of the races we were going to run, and he ran in them all. He beat all the horses that came up to him,” he added. “It’s a shame Justify went to the sideline early. We were hoping we’d have a chance of meeting in the Breeders’ Cup, but it unfortunately didn’t happen. Whatever the vote, we’re fine with it. We’re just delighted with our horse.”

Joel Rosario, who won the mount when regular rider Victor Espinoza was seriously injured in a mishap last summer, has been a perfect 3-for-3 aboard Accelerate, who captured the Pacific Classic (G1) by 12 ½ lengths, the Awesome Again (G1) by 2 ½ lengths and the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) by a length.

The only horse to beat Accelerate last year will try to repeat that feat in the Pegasus. City of Light, who registered a neck decision over Accelerate in the Oaklawn Park Handicap (G2) last April, is rated second at 5-2 in the morning-line and will break from the No. 3 post.

Owned by Mr. and Mrs. William K. Warren Jr., the 5-year-old son of Quality Road would subsequently finish third behind a victorious Accelerate six-weeks later in the 1 ¼-mile Santa Anita Gold Cup.

“We’ve met twice. It’s a tie ballgame so far,” trainer Michael McCarthy said.

City of Light, who won the seven-furlong Triple Bend (G1) at Santa Anita in March, raced twice following the Santa Anita Gold Cup, finishing second in the seven-furlong Forego (G1) at Saratoga Aug. 25 and winning the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) by 2 ¾ lengths.

Although he’s shown brilliance in one-turn races, McCarthy is confident City of Light will have no difficulty stretching out for the two-turn Pegasus.

“I don’t think he’ll have any problem,” McCarthy said. “He won the [1 1/8-mile] Oaklawn Handicap.”

City of Light, who will also be retired and begin his stallion career at Lane’s End, will be ridden by Hall of Famer Javier Castellano, who was aboard for his Dirt Mile romp.

 

CANADIAN STARS racing on Pegasus day

 

 

Manfred and Penny Conrad’s Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mares Sprint winner SHAMROCK ROSE, a Pennsylvania bred, returns to action in the Grade 3 Hurricane Bertie, race 7. The filly is trained by Mark Casse.

Canadian-bred HOLY HELENA, the Queen’s Plate winner two years ago, is in the Grade 3 La Prevoyante Stakes at 1 1/2 miles on turf. The Ghostzapper mare ended a streak of off-form races when second in the Via Borghese Stakes on Dec. 29 with Lasix for the first time.

Helena’s competition includes Canadian-owned A A Azula’s Arch, who was the surprise winner of the Maple Leaf Stakes (G3) as a 3-year-old last year at Woodbine. Owned by A & A Farms and trained by Kevin Attard, the Kentucky bred is seeking her first win on the grass.

In the Grade 3 Fred Hooper, Prince of Wales Stakes winner from four years ago, BREAKING LUCKY, has recently returned to racing as a 7-year-old. The Christine Hayden-bred has been Grade 1 placed in recent years and ended a long winless streak with an 8 1/4 length score in an allowance race on Dec. 7. Also in the field is Stronach’s Ontario bred UNBRIDLED JUAN who has won two straight stakes races.

Canadian champion JOHNNY BEAR tries the Grade 3 W L McKnight and he is in the card of trainer Mike DePaulo in Florida. Johnny Bear, who won the Grade 1 Northern Dancer Stakes for the second straight year in 2018 is now eight-years-old and he was bred by Ivan dalos.

And Johnny’ Bear’s younger full brother, CHANNEL MAKER, also bred by Dalos, returns to racing in the Grade 1 Pegasus Turf at 1 3/16 miles.

Queen’s Plate hopeful TRIPWIRE, from the same owners (Ken and Sarah Ramsey), trainer (Mike Maker) and breeders (Bernard and Karen McCormack) as previous Plate winner Sir Dudley Digges, seeks his maiden victory in race 4. The son of Flashback was second by half a length in the Grade 3 Grey Stakes and fourth to Avie’s Flatter in the Coronation Futurity. He will be making his dirt debut.

 

Saturday, Gulfstream, post time: 4:57 p.m. EST
PEGASUS WORLD CUP TURF INVITATIONAL S.-GI, $7,000,000, 4yo/up, 1 3/16mT
PP HORSE SIRE OWNER TRAINER JOCKEY WT

1 Magic Wand (Ire) Galileo (Ire) Tabor, Michael, Magnier, Mrs. John & Smith, Derrick O’Brien Lordan 112
2 Yoshida (Jpn) Heart’s Cry (Jpn) China Horse Club International Ltd., WinStar Farm, Starlight Racing, Head of PlainsMott Ortiz 124
3 Channel Maker  English Channel Wachtel Stable, Barber, Gary, R. A. Hill Stable & Reeves Thoroughbred Racing Mott Castellano 117
4 Aerolithe (Jpn) Kurofune Sunday Racing Co. Ltd. Kikuzawa Geroux 112
5 Next Shares  Archarcharch Iavarone, McClanahan, Dunn, Marasa, Robershaw & Taylor Baltas Gaffalione 124
6 Fahan Mura  English Channel Bran Jam Stables and Clark, David W. Cerin Maldonado 119
7 Bricks and Mortar  Giant’s Causeway Klaravich Stables, Inc. and Lawrence, William H. Brown Ortiz, Jr. 124
8 Delta Prince Street Cry (Ire) Stronach Stables Jerkens Dettori 124
9 Catapult  Kitten’s Joy Woodford Racing, LLC Sadler Rosario 124
10 Dubby Dubbie Ice Box Ron Paolucci Racing, LLC Hess, Jr. Panici 124