The Pegasus Stakes ($150.000 Purse)
MTH- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
June 15, 2024

Earlier this month, a not to well-known horse opened eyes with an impressive mile work here at MTH. He was a stranger then too many, but after the Pegasus Stakes, that is no longer the case for The Stranger. In what was his stake debut, The Stranger got up just in time to win the race in a photo over Bay The Man. The betting public was wise to him, making him a pretty strong post time favorite, and he was our second choice. The one we did pick did not do super good today. The Stranger is trained by Jerry Garcia Racing, and he wins this for the second time. The previous victory was in 2014 with the late Epiphanot. N Juarez was aboard for his first win in the race. Congratulations to them! The race winning time was 1:41,37, and that sets a new stake record. Let’s take a look at it:

(1/4 Mile- :23.37)- From the outside, Super Good goes out to the race lead for Mb Stables and will hold a half-length advantage on Bay The Man, who’s out of Aer Stables. Stalking these top two is Mo Mentum Farm’s Fight Fire With Fire, and he has horses on each side of him. One of them is our eventual winner from Jerry Garcia Racing, The Stranger, who runs to his outside and the other is one who would finish at the opposite end of the running order, Fear The Stars, from Riggins Racing. After length and a half, we get our two trailers, China Syndrome (Night Rider Stables) and Postol (Sheffler Stables).

(½ Mile- :47.14)- Not much changes as we make our way down the backstretch, as at the front, Super Good and Bay The Man are still the leaders, but they are neck and neck now. Comfortably stalking these two for now are both Fight Fire With Fire and The Stranger, with the latter running in the second lane. Fear The Stars had been running with them, but that is no longer the case as he pulls in line right behind them, still being ahead of China Syndrome and Postol.

(Top of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- Almost as soon as we passed the half mile point, N Juarez moved The Stranger over a lane to prepare to make a move to get by the two pacesetters. The Stranger would not waste any time, either, quickly pulling three wide with them at the top of the turn. He’d pass the tiring Super Good with ease, but Bay The Man had plenty left in the tank with the advantage of having the rail on the turn. Fight Fire With Fire did not push forward at the same time as The Stranger, but would be even with Super Good at the top of the stretch. Meanwhile, Fear The Stars was bowing out, and neither China Syndrome or Postol had done anything yet.

(Finish- 1:41.37)- With a furlong to go, The Stranger had caught Bay The Man, and these two were running evenly. But if it seemed like The Stranger was going to cruise from this point, Bay The Man had other ideas and showed plenty of heart in the closing moments. These two would battle it out to the wire, and a photo finish would be declared. There, it was shown that The Stranger had prevailed by a nose to take the victory! Fight Fire With Fire was length back in third, and it was two more back to the rest of the field. China Syndrome would outlast the rest for fourth, but never threatened for a better finish. Super Good, Postol, and Fear The Stars round it out.

About The Winner- The Stranger, trained by Jerry Garcia Racing and ridden to victory by N Juarez, is a three-year-old gelding by Liberty Valance and is out of By My Side. He was bred in Kentucky as a third quarter two-year-old by Jerry Garcia Racing, and they have been together throughout. Congratulations to the connections! The win is fourth in seven starts, and first stake win. His career earnings are now $189.280.

Track: Fast
Time: :23¹  :47  1:11¹  1:41¹

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 6 – 2 Paid 5.40
$1 Trifecta: 6 – 2 – 5 Paid 301.70

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded