The $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) may be the first major race of the year, but it can also be a farewell party.
Since the race launched in 2017 at Gulfstream Park With a controversial $12 million purse structure, some of the sport’s brightest stars made stops at Pegasus before starting their lives as stallions. california chrome , gunman , City of light and Knicks go each champion or winner of the Breeders’ Cup, calling it a career after participating in the stakes in late January.
This year, in the January 28th edition of Pegasus, the 4-year-old won the Gold Square 1st grade multiple prize electronic knife will perform the lyrics of the old Groucho Marx song “Hello, I have to go” by riding in a Pegasus before joining the stables at Spendthrift Ranch.
“Bit of joy is the exact word for my feelings,” boss Al Gold said of his son in Gun Runner, who has made a little over $2 million. “I’m sorry I won’t be able to see him run after (Pegasus) but we have a lovely 3-year-old in our house. Instant coffee (who won Lecomte Stakes, G3 Jan. 21) and some promising 2-year-olds who we hope will develop into good runners. We’ll see what happens in the future, but for now, this is Cyberknife’s last race and he has set the bar high for the rest of my horses. We had a good time watching it run for two years and after this last run it moved to the spawn shed.”
Cyberknife beat Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park
Cyberknife, winner of the Arkansas Derby (G1) and Haskell Stakes (G1), landed in 10th place in field 12 and was pegged as 5-2 favorites at the January 22 placement draw for Saturday’s 1/8 mile race test. He will start his first game since one of his best efforts for coach Brad Cox, as he fought fiercely in the round but lost by head. Cody’s Wish on 5 November Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1).
“It’s going to be a good race,” Cox said. “We feel confident with Knicks Go both times (in Pegasus). He ran two great races. Obviously, one was a winning attempt (2021) and the other was a runner-up (2022) against one. very, very good horse (life is good ). I feel as confident with this horse as I did with Knicks Go two seasons ago.”
Bred by Ken and Sarah Ramsey in addition to the Flower Alley mare Awesome Flower, the Cyberknife was purchased by Joe Hardoon, Gold’s race manager, for $400,000.
by Godolphin Authority (posts 1, 9-2) enter the new year with a new image. In the past two years, the hybrid child of faucet is a common presence in the classifieds holdings but is a category that is almost devoid of cigars. In his first eight starts in the joint stock company, he had four seconds and no results were worse than fourth but didn’t win. It all took a rather abrupt turn in his final start for coach Mike Stidham when he finally broke through with a 3/4-length win in the Nov. 25 Clark Stakes game. (G1) at Churchill Downs.
Proxy wins Clark Stakes at Churchill Downs
“He’s always shown that he belongs (in the classified shares), but he hasn’t been able to get the job done,” said Stidham. “So it’s huge to win 1st place. The horse has grown well and we hope it can keep rolling.”
While Cyberknife will be heading to the spawn warehouse after Pegasus, the Proxy has another significantly different goal in its journey. Depending on what goes on on Saturday, the 5-year-old will likely compete in the $12 million Dubai World Championships (G1) on March 25, a race that Stidham has won for two years. before with Godolphin’s. mystical guide .
Stidham said: “It is a good time to host the World Cup in Dubai and although it is not set yet, if we run well here and get a good result like this we will definitely look into it. it.
Bruce Lunsford’s 1st grade victory Art collector (tracks 6, 101) to provide most of the early speed in a race where card positions are important due to the short run time to first turn. Bernardini’s 6-year-old son, who will become a stallion at Claiborne Ranch following his racing career, was about to finish in a sub-standard fifth place in Lukas Classic Stakes (G2) when he started up to speed but weakened in the long finals.
Art collector wins Alydar Stock at Saratoga . Racecourse
Coached by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, the Art Collector won the 2021 Woodward Stakes (G1) award as well as the final two editions of the Charles Town Classic Stakes (G2), which marked the 10-game win in 20 catches. with earnings of $2,332,490.
Coach Bob Baffert will chase Pegasus’ third win with out of money (posts 5, 6-1), who hails from the West Coast after winning Native Divers’ Stakes (G3) and Great Returns Stakes (G1) in his last two starts.
the gelded son of Called in won five of his 13 career starts to owners Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman for $608,100.
Coach Saffie Joseph Jr. based in Florida will send a trio of beginners in White Abarrio (Lessons 4, 10-1), Skippylongstocking (Lessons 7, 5-1), and O’Connor (Lessons 12, 10-1).
C Two Racing Stable and White Abarrio by Antonio Pagnano, 4-year-old son of Race day is looking for his first win since attending the 2022 Florida Derby (G1), but last time he put in a lot of effort coming in third in the Cigar Mile (G1) Handicap, being beaten for less than a while time.
Daniel Alonso’s Skippylongstocking closed 2022 with a win in Harlan’s Holiday Stakes (G3), Gulfstream’s preparation for Pegasus. The son of exaggeration His 2022 season includes a win in the West Virginia Derby (G3) and a third win in the Belmont Stakes (G1).
Michael and Jules Iavarone’s Fernando Vine Ode and O’Connor finished fourth in Harlan’s Holiday, his second start in the United States. 6 year old son of Boboman was the group 1 winner in Chile last year.
School 12 also includes simplify (Lessons 2, 15-1), The ultimate samurai warrior (Lesson 9, 20-1), Ridin with Biden (Lesson 3, 20-1), quiet boy (track 11, 30-1), and Get her number (Lesson 8, 15-1).
There are also two listed as also eligible: lift gold and confirm .
