Ptyrannical Comes Through Late to Win PWC Turf

By Nynl Stables on January 29, 2023

The Pegasus World Cup Turf (Grade 1)- $1,000.000 Purse
GP- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Eighth on the Turf
January 28, 2023

A full field of fourteen got together on Saturday for the Pegasus World Cup Turf, and bettors were split as to who they felt was the best in the field. The post time favorite, King Que Niagra, went off at odds of 6/1, so certainly this race was seen as up for grabs. The race would end up being won by a horse, Ptyrannical, who was here last year. Arindel’s gelding has improved since then, and came very close to a win in the BC Mile about three months ago. There would be no “almost” today, as Ptyrannical gets the job done while coming from off the pace. It is the first win in this race for both Arindel and jockey E J Zayas. Congratulations to them! The winning time was 1:45.06. Let’s take a look at it!

(1/2 Mile- :46.92)- After a clean break for everyone in the field, we get two horses that emerge a little quicker over the first half mile of the race. Key Biscayne gets on the lead for TwinTowersRacing, and he will have Smokey Stover’s Boardwalk Empire right beside him. These two went back and forth as to which one would be a head in front of the other around the opening turn, but they would have a length and a half advantage over their closest pursuers. You could say that the next group of horses were in an “inverted- V” formation, with Maxmillion Farm’s Devil Made DoIt running in the third spot. Mickey (South Shore Stables) and Contradiction (Aer Stables) are even for fourth and Aerialist (Mb Stables) and Jakarta (Nakamura Stables) are even for sixth. Then, it’s Nevada Silver (Nakamura Stables) and Pxg (Mb Stables). Further back, our eventual winner, Arindel’s Ptyrannical, is part of a three wide group with King Que Niagra (D J C Racing Stables) and Show Me How To Live (Mo Mentum Farm). Lets Do It Big Boy (RNP Stables) and Moonlight Special (Allinthegate) run at the back.

(3/4 Mile- 1:11.92)- There is no change at the front as the backstretch portion takes place and moves into the turn. The lead still belongs to Boardwalk Empire while Key Biscayne is starting to show signs of not being able to keep up at the top of the turn. Devil Made Me Doit and Mickey are looking to make a move on the leader in the turn while Jakarta, Pxg, and Aerialist are still in good striking range themselves. Ptyrannical did not have any room to make a move yet, but E J Zayas was getting him a little closer to the wall of horses right in front of him to survey his options while within the turn.

(Top of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- Boardwalk Empire holds the lead as the field moves around the turn and enters the stretch. He’s about to meet his first challenger shortly as Mickey looks particularly strong on exit of the turn and pulls up right alongside of him. Devil Made Doit also gets a little closer and has a clear lane in front of him. A length behind these three, we both Jakarta and Pxg looking good and appearing to be good contenders here. Key Biscayne was hanging around but that was not going to be enough at this point. Ptyrannical has moved into seventh, and has about three lengths to make up on the leader. It’s not out of the question, but finding the running room would stand to be the bigger task. For now, he was directly behind Pxg with the more likely option being to make an outside move.

(Finish- 1:45.06)- Mickey is the new leader at the top of the stretch, and has his hands full with Boardwalk Empire, who is not going away quietly. Devil Made Me Doit is staying within a half length of them, and Pxg makes an outside move to try and find a lane for himself. This work out for him, but it would make Pytrannical need to push even further outside. This was not really a bad thing, because once in that lane, he had a nice opening to come between Pxg and Devil Made Doit. In the closing moments of the race, Pytrannical would have a little more left in the tank than those ahead of him, and capitalized on that lane. Mickey could not do anything about it as Ptyrannical gets up just in time for the victory. Mickey is second, over a dead heat for third between Devil Made Doit and Pxg. Fifth is Jakarta, one spot over Lets Do It Big Boy, who became racy very late in the stretch. King Que Niagra disappoints and dead heats with Boardwalk Empire for seventh. The final order is Moonlight Special, Show Me How To Live, Nevada SIlver, Key Biscayne, Contradiction, and Aerialist.

About The Winner- Pytrannical, trained by Arindel and ridden to victory by E J Zayas, is a five year old gelding by Opus Force and is out of Star Pirate. He was bred in the treat breeding state of Pennsylvania by Joshua Stable as a second quarter two year old and acquired by Arindel for $200.000 in a December 2020 private sale. The win is his eighth in 24 starts, and his fourth stake win, all of which are graded. His career earnings are now $2,378.480.

Horse Name

Owner Name

Jockey

Odds

Fin

Time

SRF

Ptyrannical

Arindel

Zayas E J

6.50

1^1/4