The Pegasus World Cup Turf (Grade 1)- $300.000 Purse
GP- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and Three Sixteenths on the Turf
January 26, 2019

It’s Pegasus weekend at GP! Now, to go along with the Pegasus World Cup, we have the Pegasus World Cup Turf, which will run for the first time. The game uses the history of the GP Turf Handicap still with this race, and while that is what this replaces, to me it seems like this race should have its own history, given some notable differences in the races, other then simply calling it something different. So, feel free to go back and look at that GP Turf Handicap history if you want, and you’ll see a lot of Dogma. I’m going to look at this race fresh, though, as a completely new event. The field of 12 is impressive, with both the BC Mile and BC Turf winners going head to head, and they will do it against probably the greatest horse never to win a BC race. The starting gate is full for this one, so let’s take a look at our field.

#1- Lucky Phooey (Estero Farms, ridden by C J Lanerie)- We get started right away with the reigning BC Mile champion. The Phooeys Ideal gelding won just two races during 2018, but it was consistency of finishing in the top four that allowed him to get to the BC. With a little more luck, he could have won a couple more, too. Saturday will be his first race since winning the BC Mile, and this will be the longest race of his career by just a little bit. What’s interesting is that while he’s run over a mile several times, he’s never won a race more then a mile.

#2- Awesome Indeed (TwinTowers Racing, ridden by D E Centeno)- Only won one race during 2018, and it was indeed, awesome. Around Thanksgiving, he appeared in the Grade 2 Seabiscuit Handicap, and earned a career high-matching 100 SRF in the win. This followed a stretch of out of the money performances, so there will still be some concern about his ability to follow up the Seabiscuit Handicap here. Seems to be his best when on the lead early.

#3- Thoughtful Idea (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by C Landeros)- In eight of his last nine races, the Niagra colt has finished either first or second, a stretch that features several ungraded stakes, and a pair of Grade 2’s. The lone exception was another Grade 2, which was run on soft turf. The consistency is impressive, but it can be argued that he has never faced the type of field, in regards to its overall depth, that he sees here. Interesting to see how he handles it, because if it goes well, expect to see his name a lot more in 2019.

#4- Devil Six (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by I Ortiz Jr)- Acquired from Maxmillion Farm this June for $400.000. In that time, he’s raced five times, three of which are good results and two of which are complete duds. Therefore, on that, he comes a bit tough for me to put a lot of support behind. His most recent race was the BC Mile in November, and in that race he showed his full potential, scoring a 103 SRF in his second place finish. That is what he needs to duplicate here, and if he does, no reason why he couldn’t win.

#5- Spanish Showboat (Mb Stables, ridden by F Pennington)- What can be said that has not already about this one. There might not be a greater horse in the history of the game that does not boast a BC win on his resume. He has had some close calls with that, and was second in the BC Turf last year, though beaten by four lengths. He’s nine now, so how much longer will he be able to continue this level of success? In his first race of the year, it would be nice to see the 55 race veteran come up big, just as long as you don’t actually have an entry in the race.

#6- Lets Do It Big Boy (RNP Stables, ridden by B J Hernandez Jr)- Acquired in private sales for $125.000 from Team 7 Illusions in October, a pretty good price for a stake quality horse. RNP added lasix, and he would run third in the BC Turf. Interesting, while several in here are running their first race after the BC, it will be Lets Do It Big Boy’s third race after it. It was his prior two which were close together, though, and he is well rested for this one.

#7- Its Geek To Me (Nakamura Stables, ridden by L Saez)- Has alternated wins and non wins ever since March of last year, and with that he is returning to graded competition, something which he did back in 2017. Included in that was a 5th place run in that seasons GP Turf Handicap. Recently, he has been very good in open allowances and ungraded stakes to earn the chance to get back to where he once was.

#8- Going Gone (John Henry, ridden by R Bejarano)- Another one that was sold by Team 7 Illusions in private sales just prior to the BC. John Henry picked the gelding up a couple of days after winning the DMR Handicap in August. He did make one start prior to the BC with John Henry, doing so in the Shadwell (Grade 1), but was rather flat in his performance. He was still eligible for the BC Turf, so he made a start there, but that’s about all that can be said about it. Won an optional claimer last month, but now it is time to show he can at least be competitive against this type of field.

#9- The Force Awakens (Diablo Diablo, ridden by J Bravo)- The force awakened in the Sword Dancer at SAR, where his third place finish seemed to kick start his career back towards the level in which he competes here. Though the Hirsch did not go well, he bounced back winning an optional claimer, and then ran second to Awesome Indeed in the Seabiscuit Handicap in late November. He is well rested, and it would be a mistake to overlook him.

#10- Early Retirement (Mb Stables, ridden by L H Colon)- This is one of those horses to be excited about watching in 2019. It was in the latter half of 2018 where he really began to show that dominant side, with wins in the Grade 1 BEL Derby and Arlington Million, and running second in the Hirsch. In the BC, it’s not enough to just say that he won the BC Turf. He was simply dominant in it, winning it by four lengths over Spanish Showboat, who is one of the best in the game. Since he is a gelding, there will be no early retirement for Early Retirement, and the sky is the limit on what he may do this season. In this race, he also gets L H Colon, who is often Mr Perfect on the grass.

#11- Lunar Blaze (John Henry, ridden by J R Velazquez)- The veteran enters his six year old season, and does so coming off a victory, so there is good news. That was only in an open allowance, though. He did end up winning twice over the course of 2018, but still needs to be doing that more often as his reputation after the private sale purchase still persists. He’s very consistent in getting pieces of purses, so that can happen again. Tough to put on top in a field like this, but it would be a good story if he did win.

#12-Sezarchai (Ekli Stable, ridden by J L Ortiz)- This is a horse to watch in 2019 as well. He had solid season last year, hitting the board in seven out of nine races, but the impression he left when making his graded debut was quite strong. It was not just any race either, it was the Grade 1 HOL Derby. How he follows that up will be key, and he does not necessarily have to win in order for this to be a success. A big effort here could mean seeing him against this company all year.

Prediction: 10-5-11-4

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES