Pegasus World Cup (Grade 1)- $500.000 Purse
GP- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
January 23, 2021

It should never be a surprise that many of the best horses are running in the Pegasus World Cup. That doesn’t change the wow factor, however, when one looks at the field for the first time. Yes, this great race will be great once again as the field of thirteen features nine horses that have won at least $1,000.000 in their careers. Some in this field can scoff at that number, though, as four in the field have surpassed $3,000.000 in career earnings. This field is star studded, just like it should be, and it is going to be interesting to see which one of these will get bragging rights over the others for the first time in 2021. The last two years have seen this race be won by State Police and Tactical, and the latter is hoping to duplicate that feat this year for trainer Mb Stables. Once again, unfortunately, the game treats the conditions like the Donn Handicap, even though in real life, the race runs for a $4 million purse. This field certainly would have been worthy of a $4,000.000 purse. Let’s look at these virtual equine stars now!

#1- Masons Day (Gdp Inc, ridden by P Lopez)- In many of his races, Masons Day would be seen as one of the horses to beat. After all, with three wins in his last four starts, and the other being an obvious throw out, there is plenty to like. However, in the Pegasus World Cup, his earnings are lower than all of his rivals in the field. He seems to be peaking right now, and that can make him competitive, but he is in for the race of his life right now. It would be a great way for him to make a name for himself, almost like stablemate Crack Dab did last fall, but I can’t put virtual money on it.

#2- Achilles (Mb Stables, ridden by S X Bridgmohan)- The next chapter in the career of this gelding will be under the guidance of the Mb Stables, who picked him up in private sales for $566.000 about a month ago. He won just a tad over $1,000.000 during 2020, which culminated in a victory at the Grade 1 Clark Handicap. He had a great career for Diablo Diablo, and will now be six years old as the torch is passed on to his new owner.

#3- Splash Mountain (John Henry, ridden by J R Velazquez)- This legendary horse almost went all year without a win, but picked that up, at last, at the beginning of December when he came from behind in the Grade 1 Cigar Handicap. He is just 34 cents shy of $6,500.000 in career earnings, and will be hoping for a few more wins during his six year old season. Worked very well to end the year, so don’t be looking for anything less than his best on Saturday.

#4- Obeah Mon (Night Rider Stables, ridden by E J Zayas)- Another horse in this field who would not typically be star struck by his opposition, but will have a tough task ahead of him. He has run in high profile races, though, such as the Travers and the Woodward over the summer before moving to the grass. He seemed to do well on the turf, but the trainer wants the entry in this race, and not the turf race earlier on the card.

#5- Heretowinthisfight (Fractious, ridden by D Davis)- On auction day, everyone that was paying attention would have had him on their watch list either to try and win the bidding, or to see how much he would go for. The end price was $750.000 for last year’s third place finisher in the BC Classic, with Fractious acquiring him from Night Mare Racing, who was unfortunately in a situation where she had to sell him. This horse may just be getting started, and was red hot before the BC, with wins in the PA Derby and the Dwyer, among others.

#6- Tactical (Mb Stables, ridden by T Gaffalione)- Ah yes, Tactical. What more is there to say about this one that has not been said already? Well, here we can say that he is trying to win the Pegasus for the second consecutive year, and if he did, it would be his 10th career win. He shows up when the pressure is the highest, it seems, but is currently riding a three race winless streak. Therefore, he’s due, and he’s done it before in his race. Those works tell us that he is not slowing down. I’m pumped for another Splash Mountain-Tactical battle, though this time, there’s plenty of others that can steal the headline.

#7- For The Boys (Fractious, ridden by J Lezcano)- The five year old gelding finished off his 2020 running well, placing second in the Grade 1 Awesome Again, before winning the Grade 2 San Antonio Stakes at SA on the day after Christmas. In late 2019, he was a runner in the BC Classic, but did not hit the board, and his fate was similar in the Pegasus World Cup last year. Now under the guidance of Fractious, the hope is for a better Pegasus and he does seem to come into the race better than he had last year.

#8- Stark (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by E Jaramillo)- I was finally able to see this horse on one of his good days when he ran second in the Cigar Handicap last month. But for this highly inconsistent horse, can we count on him to do that in back to back races. For him to have a chance in a race of this caliber, there can be no other way. If he does show up, he can be as good as anyone. Not one I can pick in a race like this.

#9- Gran Z (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by A Beschizza)- This horse is on top of his game right now, and is one to watch here in the Pegasus. Before finishing third in the BC Classic, he won both the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap and the Grade 1 Awesome again. In all of those races, he was awarded a triple digit SRF. Moving into 2021, the question for this five year old will be can he keep it rolling, because if he does, we will be talking about him a lot.

#10- Combat Wombat (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by A Cedillo)- One of the game’s top horses, with over $3,000.000 in career earnings, but the trainer was a little more conservative with him late in 2020 as two of his last four races are open allowances, not stakes. However, his last start was not only a stake, but the Grade 1 Clark Handicap, and he went wire to wire in the win. It’s good to see him having success again, but if I were to pick a horse from this barn, it would be Gran Z.

#11- Space Commander (Nakamura Stables, ridden by S Ryan)- The five year old Strategic Command gelding won three of nine races during 2020, but his second place performance in the BC Classic was his most exciting result. He lost that race by a nose, and he’ll see the one that beat him out right next to him in the gate. As for his last race, he was not good in the Cigar Handicap, but the race may have been too short. He was coming on at the end, and if he had a ninth furlong, as he does here, that race line is much better.

#12- Charleys Latte (Estero Farms, ridden by R M Hernandez)- Here is our 2020 BC Classic champion as he kicks off his four year old campaign. This was a horse that was active during the KYD prep races, and fared well in them, including a win in the Wood Memorial. Then, he fell off the radar a little before being resurgent in the Pacific Classic, running second. His work time on December 27th at AQU shows that he is ready to pick up where he left off this year. This race will be just about as tough as the BC Classic was, so a win here on the heels of that win would certainly be an emphatic statement.

#13- Ice Wall (RNP Stables, ridden by K Carmouche)- On the outside, Ice Wall has been running well and consistently finishing second. In 2020, he finished as the runner up seven times in 12 starts, and that includes the BC Dirt Mile. To finish second again, or to do one better, something he only did once in 2020, he’ll need to overcome this post. However, K Carmouche was able to do that with him in last start, which came from post 12. He’ll be in the mix.

Prediction: 5-9-6-3

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES