The Pegasus World Cup (Grade 1)- $500.000 Purse
GP- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
January 28, 2017

In a bit of a surprise, Ufc Morals topped a star-studded field at the Pegasus World Cup on Saturday afternoon, adding trainer Tiratzo to the list (if he wasn’t already) of people wishing a $12,000.000 purse was at stake.  Short of that, he will take a victory in what was essentially the Donn Handicap, marking the first Grade 1 ever won by the stable.  For that achievement alone, we here at the SRF send our congratulations to Tiratzo!  It goes without saying, then, that it is their first ever win in this stake.  Ufc Morals was ridden to victory by F Pennington, who has become the recent rider of choice by Tiratzo for his star heavyweight, and it is his first win in the stake as well.  Our winner went off at odds of 16/1 that somehow made Viking Rasta the favorite.  No offense to that one, but we didn’t see that coming. The time of the victory was 1:47.88. Congratulations to our winners!  Here is how it played out!

1st- 3- Ufc Morals (16/1)- Our eventual winner from Tiratzo broke well out of the gate before being content to let the pacesetters do their thing.  F Pennington would keep his fighter just a couple lengths from the lead while running to the outside of Black Mojo around the opening turn and into the backstretch.  About midway through that segment of the race, we started to see Ufc Morals show his intentions to move forward, gaining a length on the leaders.  Entering the turn, Pennington was riding with confidence, and moved his horse over one lane to prepare for the pass of Compress, who was surprisingly showing signs of early tiring.  He passed that one with ease early in the turn, and was setting his sights on taking over the lead from Carneyman prior to entering the stretch run.  At the top of the stretch, they were even, and Pennington asked Ufc Morals for just a little more, and he responded with authority.   With a furlong to go, he was clear by a length with no serious challenges seeming imminent from behind.  Cruising to the wire, Ufc Morals was sharp in picking up the first ever Grade 1 win for trainer Tiratzo! The time of the win again was 1:47.88.  Ufc Morals is a four year old colt by Chainsaw Charley and out of Filly Noir.  He was bred in West Virginia by Ollies, and after passing through a few stables early in his career, he was acquired by Tiratzo in the December 2015 auction from Night Mare Racing for $99.770.  Congratulations to the connections!

2nd- 2- Black Mojo (6/1)- Making his debut for Mb Stables, the BEL runner-up got off to a good start of the gate, and would run just to the inside of Ufc Morals as the two of them, and Port On The Horizon, sat just a couple lengths off of the leaders around the first turn.  Maintained a steady stride over the backstretch before moving down off of the rail to prepare to pass Viking Rasta as they made their way to the final turn.  That one would throw a block, so it was back to the rail in quick response, and it proved to be a key move for him.  While riding the rail, he would emerge in the third position with just his former stablemate Carneyman, and Ufc Morals in front of him.  Steady progress allowed him to pass his BEL rival, and get a solid second for his trainer.

3rd- 11- Carneyman (54/1)- With the spotlight on this race being a little brighter, it should have been only natural that Carneyman ran one of his best races.  The John Henry trained longshot started well and would ultimately take the lead as the field made their way around the opening turn and into the backstretch.  After battling with Compress and Viking Rasta, he would lead at a half mile in a time of :46.64.  Six furlongs would go in 1:10.27 as he opened up by a length.  Could not hold off Ufc Morals, but ran in a consistent stride all the way to the wire with the benefit of having position along the rail.  That likely was the difference between finishing third and fifth.

4th- 8- Copper Beast (14/1)- Our pre-race favorite, also from John Henry, seemed fine out of the gate, but would assume his normal position at the start of any race, which is near the back of the field.  At the top of the backstretch, he would be seventh, and five lengths from the lead, so perhaps a little closer to the front then his custom.  Stalked Ufc Morals at this point and did well to squeeze between Compress and Port On The Horizon at the top of the stretch even though Ufc Morals was getting away from him.  Seemed like he started to drift just a little at this point, though. Ran well to the wire and was part of a tight photo for third.

5th- 5- Port On The Horizon (18/1)- The veteran gelding from D J C Racing Stables got off to a decent start, and would situate himself just off the lead by a couple lengths moving into the opening turn.  Handled the turn well, but did so while going three wide to the outside of the eventual top two finishers, Ufc Morals and Black Mojo.  Stayed with Ufc Morals going into the final turn, but would start to gradually lose touch with him before reaching the stretch.  Ended up significantly outside in the stretch, and while he showed some fight, fifth is the best he could do.

6th- 4- Blowin Smoke (11/1)- The top performing entry from Grimley got off to an average start, and would find himself in the middle of the field in the early moments.  He would be running with Tiger Town and Copper Beast at this point, but would drop back even further into the backstretch.  Still seemed out of it during the turn, but in the stretch, he started looking for room to run.  Unfortunately for the trainer, he had to check up to avoid Compress.  Once he recovered, he seemed to explode with run, but was too late at that point.

7th- 7- Spring Lover (6/1)- Looked a little awkward out of the starting gate for his trainer, Mb Stables.  He would eventually settle in to a position near the back of the field, running with Blue Eight about six lengths from the lead into the backstretch.  Heading into the turn, he seemed to be in a very good stride and was poised to make a move to the front.    He would start to hung up a little by Viking Rasta, but not all that much.  Just when we were waiting for a move in the lane that seemed to be there, it would simply, just not come.

8th- 6- Viking Rasta (4/1)- The stunning post time favorite, from Delta Farms, was quick out of the gate, and would show the way around the opening turn, before ultimately surrendering the advantage to Carneyman and Compress by the time they moved into the backstretch.  He would stalk them from behind by about a length.   Kept a steady gap to the leaders until they moved into the turn.  Midway through the turn, after trying to show some fight, he started seeing horses go by him and would not contend any further.

9th- 1- Tiger Town (51/1)- Starting on the rail, the longshot from Aer Stables was not interested in staying in the front with the leaders, and would be near the back early.  Trailed by five and a half heading into the backstretch, and would have the same deficit as they moved into the turn.  At no point was he really able to mount a push forward, and seemed to just be content with outlasting those around him.

10th- 12- Atomic Twister (9/2)- If the defending BC Classic champion was looking to make a statement for his 2016 Horse Of The year campaign, then things did not go according to plan as the Blushing Meadows star would disappoint today.  He broke poorly and was in the back of the field almost immediately.  Trailed by eight entering the backstretch.  Started looking for holes in the turn and could not really find anything.  The trip could be blamed to a point, but he lost this race leaving the starting gate.

11th- 9- Compress (6/1)- The stable star from Cherrytree Hill Farm got off to a fairly good start, but did have to be about four to five wide heading into the opening turn as he battled for the third position.  Handled the first turn strongly, and was a head out of first as they moved into the backstretch.  Seemed to be in a good spot, but as they moved into the final turn, he was simply swallowed up by his rivals and could never recover.

12th- 13- Blue Eight (12/1)- Drew into the field with the scratch of Skeleton Balle, giving Grimley two entries.  He was decent out of the gate initially, but J Rosario clearly wanted him near the back and seemed to put him on a hard restrain into the opening turn.  Trailed by seven at the top of the stretch, but would get two of them back before entering the final turn.  That would be the extent of any progress he made, and he would never threaten in this race.

Track: Fast
Time: :46³  1:10¹  1:35   1:47⁴

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 3 – 2 Paid 111.90
$1 Trifecta: 3 – 2 – 11 Paid 1,955.00

Scratched: Gentile Il Buono, Skeleton Balle

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES