 |
|
| Staff Writer |
 |
The initial list of invitations for the US$1 million Gr.1 Pegasus World Cup Turf on January 27, 2023, at Gulfstream Park has been revealed. The list includes Master of the Seas, the winner of the 2023 Gr.1 Breeders’ Cup Mile, and Atone, the defending champion and a fellow millionaire.
The list features the top 12 horses, along with nine reserves. The Pegasus Turf is a 1 1/8-mile race for 4YOs and up, and it is part of a World Cup Day program that includes seven graded-stakes worth US$5.2 million in purses, including the US$3 million Gr.1 Pegasus World Cup presented by Baccarat and the US$500,000 Gr.2 TAA Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf.
Master of the Seas is a 6YO Irish-bred horse and a Godolphin homebred. He is trained by Charlie Appleby and has five combined group-stakes wins in England and Dubai. He made a dramatic late run from 11th of 13 to win the Breeders’ Cup Mile by a nose on 4th November, 2023, at Santa Anita. He followed this up with a win in the Gr.1 Woodbine Mile and a second in Gr.1 Keeneland's Turf Mile by a nose to Up to the Mark. Also invited from Europe is Warm Heart, an Irish-bred 4YO filly owned by Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, and Westerberg. She won the Gr.1 Yorkshire Oaks at York and the Gr.1 Qatar Prix Vermeille at Longchamp, and was second by a neck to favored Inspiral in the Gr.1 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf.
Atone, a 7YO gelding, is the defending champion of the Pegasus Turf and has run in the race each of the past two years. He has seven wins and US$1.3 million in earnings from 29 career starts and has placed in four other graded-stakes, including seconds in the 2021 Gr.2 Fort Lauderdale at Gulfstream, and 2022 Forbidden Apple and Mint Million. His stablemate, Therapist, is also on the invitation list. Michael Dubb’s Therapist is a 14-time winner of more than US$1.3 million in purse earnings that owns nine stakes victories, earning Group One credentials in the July 22 United Nations while also winning the 2018 Cutler Bay at Gulfstream. Trainer Mike Maker won his first Pegasus Turf with Zulu Alpha in 2020.
Adhamo is an Irish-bred 6YO trained by Chad Brown, winner of the inaugural Pegasus Turf in 2019 with eventual Horse of the Year Bricks and Mortar. A Group Three winner in France, Adhamo has made nine North American starts, the last eight in Group One races, with a victory in the 2022 United Nations. Brown is also represented by Klaravich Stables’ Program Trading, winner of the Gr.1 Saratoga Derby Invitational and Gr.1 Hollywood Derby in 2023.
Other horses on the invitation list include Catnip, Integration, Main Event, Kingmax, Master Piece, and Shirl’s Speight. The reserve list includes Jerry the Nipper, Grand Sonata, Anglophile, Cellist, I’m Very Busy, Missed the Cut, Rockemperor, Runaway Storm, and Watsonville.
The US$500,000 Gr.2 TAA Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf has extended invitations to twelve horses, with Queen Goddess, owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Gary Barber, being the defending champion. The 6YO mare secured a third place in the Gr.1 Jenny Wiley and a second place in the Gr.2 Goldikova last year, with a combined distance of 1 ½ lengths separating her from the winners.
On January 27, Gulfstream Park will host an exciting event, bringing together world-class thoroughbred racing, entertainment, fashion, and food. The Filly & Mare Turf is part of a thrilling program featuring seven graded-stakes that offer US$5.2 million in purses. Among these races are the US$3 million Gr.1 Pegasus World Cup presented by Baccarat and the US$1 million Gr.1 Pegasus World Cup Turf.
The Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf is a 1 1/16-mile race exclusively for female horses aged 4 and above.