A Day in the Life of a Kentucky Derby Horse
National Treasure (left) and First Mission are two contenders in a competitive 12-horse field for the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes, set for Jan. 27 at Gulfstream Park.
The first marquee race of the 2024 North American racing calendar is coming up this Saturday, Jan. 27, as Gulfstream Park hosts the eighth edition of the $3 million, Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes Presented by Baccarat.
The Pegasus brings together some of the best horses in training ages 4 and older to compete at 1 1/8 miles on Gulfstream’s main dirt track.
The Pegasus has been one of the most talked about races since it launched in 2017. Gulfstream renamed an already-prestigious race, the Donn Handicap, and boosted the purse to $12 million. The premiere edition saw 2016 Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Arrogate win in dominant fashion against a field that included two-time Horse of the Year California Chrome, and since then the Pegasus has kept its status as a target destination for the sport’s major leaguers even as the purse has risen and fallen over the years. (For a look back at all seven prior winners, check out this article.)
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The Pegasus is also the anchor race of a card that features six other graded stakes races including the $1 million, Grade 1 1/ST Bet Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes and the $500,000, Grade 3 Pegasus Filly and Mare Turf Invitational Stakes Presented by TAA.
And the races are only part of the event, as fans annually pack Gulfstream Park and its plaza of restaurants and shops for a daylong celebration, including fine dining and concerts. (For more on entertainment during Pegasus day, view ABR’s guide.)
This year’s race drew a competitive field headlined by last year’s Preakness Stakes winner, National Treasure. The Pegasus will be broadcast live on NBC and streamed on Peacock during a show from 4:30-6 p.m. ET.
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Read on for information on all of the Pegasus contenders:
Nikki Sherman/EQUI-PHOTO
1. Nimitz Class (20-1 morning line odds)
Jockey: Edgard Zayas
Trainer: George Weaver
Owners: Qatar Racing, Black Type Thoroughbreds, Swinbank Stables, Steve Adkisson, and Campeche Stables
Career record: 21 starts – 11 wins – 4 seconds – 1 third
Career earnings: $717,080
Earnings per start: $34,147
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 117
Pedigree: Munnings – Five Diamonds, by Flatter
Age: 5
Color: Dark bay or brown
Running style: Press the pace/stalker
Notable achievements and interesting facts: This accomplished Pennsylvania-bred racehorse will take a big class jump Saturday in his first start for a new ownership group and trainer George Weaver. He’s excelled against competition on the Mid-Atlantic circuit, racking up six stakes victories at tracks such as Laurel Park and Parx Racing, but faces a far tougher task against Grade 1 company. That being said, in terms of speed figures Nimitz Class fits right in, and his 117 Equibase Speed Figure earned last February in a blowout stakes win at Laurel going 1 1/16 miles is tied with Hoist the Gold’s recent figure in the Cigar Mile Handicap as the highest among this field. He should be one of three or four horses that are forwardly placed in the Pegasus with local jockey Edgard Zayas riding for the first time. George Weaver is off to a red-hot start at Gulfstream, winning at a 30% clip through Jan. 22.
Bet Nimitz Class in the Pegasus World Cup
Ryan Thompson/Coglianese Photo
2. O’Connor (8-1)
Jockey: Paco Lopez
Trainer: Saffie Joseph Jr.
Owners: Michael Iavarone, Jules Iavarone, and Fernando Vine Ode
Career record: 27 starts – 12 wins – 7 seconds – 3 thirds
Career earnings: $749,319
Earnings per start: $27,753
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 113
Pedigree: Boboman – Torrente de Agua, by Touch Gold
Age: 7
Color: Bay
Running style: Closer
Notable achievements and interesting facts: Chilean-bred O’Connor has found his best form over the past four months, and he enters the Pegasus off of back-to-back graded stakes wins in the Grade 2 Hagyard Fayette Stakes at Keeneland and in the local prep for this race, the Harlan’s Holiday Stakes, Dec. 30 at Gulfstream. He rallied from off of the pace both times to prevail narrowly at the finish, winning the Fayette by a head over Il Miracolo and the Harlan’s Holiday by a neck over Grand Aspen. O’Connor will face both of those foes again Saturday plus several other tough competitors, but Chile’s 2022 Horse of the Year has only run one poor race since coming to North America – an 11th of 12 finish in last year’s Pegasus – and he is proven at this race’s 1 1/8-mile distance. Trainer Saffie Joseph is the current wins and earnings leader during Gulfstream’s Championship Meet, and jockey Paco Lopez also is off to a strong start, winning 24% of his races. If the pace is fast enough on Saturday, look for this 7-year-old to get in the mix with a late charge.
Bet O’Connor in the Pegasus World Cup
Joe Labozzetta/NYRA
3. Dynamic One (15-1)
Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Owners: Repole Stable, Phipps Stable, and St. Elias Stable
Career record: 14 starts – 4 wins – 3 seconds – 1 third
Career earnings: $730,570
Earnings per start: $52,184
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 109
Pedigree: Union Rags – Beat the Drums, by Smart Strike
Age: 6
Color: Chestnut
Running style: Closer
Notable achievements and interesting facts: Dynamic One is an interesting longshot in the 2024 Pegasus field who may be overlooked somewhat by bettors as he makes his second start after a layoff of 15½ months. He came back on Dec. 22 in a one-turn mile allowance-optional claiming race at Gulfstream and ran a disappointing fifth of seven as the 3-2 favorite, but Dynamic One did have a subpar trip as he was bumped at the start and then raced wide after that. He has posted three solid workouts at Gulfstream since his comeback race, and if he can recapture his form of summer 2022 – when he won a listed stakes race at Churchill Downs going 1 1/8 miles and then took the 1 ¼-mile Suburban Stakes at Belmont Park – this son of Belmont Stakes winner Union Rags could spring the upset. Notably, Irad Ortiz Jr. stays aboard Dynamic One for the Pegasus instead of one of Todd Pletcher’s other two starters, Grand Aspen and Crupi. Ortiz is leading all Gulfstream jockeys at the Championship Meet in both wins and purse earnings through Jan. 22 after dominating in those categories during the 2022-23 meet. He and Pletcher teamed up to win the 2022 Pegasus with Life Is Good, and Ortiz also rode Mucho Gusto to victory in 2020.
Bet Dynamic One in the Pegasus World Cup
Adam Coglianese/NYRA
4. Hoist the Gold (12-1)
Jockey: John Velazquez
Trainer: Dallas Stewart
Owner: Dream Team One Racing Stable
Career record: 26 starts – 5 wins – 6 seconds – 3 thirds
Career earnings: $1,119,547
Earnings per start: $43,060
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 117
Pedigree: Mineshaft – Tacit Approval, by Tapit
Age: 5
Color: Dark bay or brown
Running style: Press the pace
Notable achievements and interesting facts: Despite entering the Pegasus off of a career-best effort, Hoist the Gold is pegged as a mid-level longshot by the oddsmakers at Gulfstream Park. That’s based on his preference for competing in distances ranging from six furlongs to one mile – through 26 career starts, he’s only raced beyond one mile and around two turns once, a well-beaten fourth in the Mineshaft Handicap at Fair Grounds back in February 2023. There’s no doubt that this veteran is in peak form, as he’s won the six-furlong Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix Stakes at Keeneland and most recently the Cigar Mile Handicap at Aqueduct during the past four months. In both of those graded stakes wins, Hoist the Gold was urged into action early to contend for the early lead, and he finished strongly to earn solid Equibase Speed Figures, including a 117 in the Cigar Mile. The question Saturday will be, can he handle racing 1 1/8 miles for the first time using the same strategy while going up against foes such as National Treasure and First Mission, who are both experienced around two turns? Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez has teamed up well with this Mineshaft horse over his past three starts and stays aboard in the Pegasus.
Bet Hoist the Gold in the Pegasus World Cup
Coady Photography
5. Trademark (15-1)
Jockey: Fernando De La Cruz
Trainer: Vicki Oliver
Owner: BBN Racing
Career record: 22 starts – 6 wins – 3 seconds – 1 third
Career earnings: $1,055,865
Earnings per start: $47,994
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 112
Pedigree: Upstart – Creative Trick, by Creative Cause
Age: 5
Color: Bay
Running style: Stalker
Notable achievements and interesting facts: This Kentucky shipper is one of several longshot entrants in the Pegasus who could spring the upset if he matches his best prior efforts and also gets a good pace setup. Trademark enters off of a win at odds of 13.10-1 in the 1 1/8-mile Clark Stakes Presented by Norton Healthcare Nov. 24 at Churchill Downs, where he outfought favorite First Mission in a stretch duel to prevail by a nose with Il Miracolo a distant third. In his race before that, Trademark disappointed as the betting favorite himself when last of seven in the Hagyard Fayette Stakes, won by O’Connor, but he had strung together four good starts before then, including a near-miss second in the 1 1/8-mile Lukas Classic Stakes at Churchill. He’s trained in Florida for Vicki Oliver over the past several weeks and will be making his first start at Gulfstream Park. Jockey Fernando De La Cruz, who has ridden Trademark to two stakes wins including the Clark, also travels south from Kentucky for the Pegasus.
Bet Trademark in the Pegasus World Cup
Coady Photography
6. Senor Buscador (20-1)
Jockey: Junior Alvarado
Trainer: Todd Fincher
Owner: Joe Peacock Jr.
Career record: 16 starts – 6 wins – 1 second – 2 thirds
Career earnings: $923,427
Earnings per start: $57,714
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 111
Pedigree: Mineshaft – Rose’s Desert, by Desert God
Age: 6
Color: Bay
Running style: Closer
Notable achievements and interesting facts: If this well-traveled, hard-knocking racehorse is sitting at anywhere near his 20-1 morning-line odds when the field heads to the Pegasus starting gate Saturday afternoon, he’ll easily be worth a longshot bet to win and also be essential to use in exacta and trifecta tickets. Senor Buscador heads south for a first career start at Gulfstream Park after rallying in the stretch to finish second behind Hoist the Gold in the Cigar Mile Handicap Dec. 2 at Aqueduct, held on a sloppy track and around one turn. This 6-year-old prefers racing longer distances around two turns, however, and he’ll be back in his comfort zone in the Pegasus. As always, Senor Buscador will need a fast pace to materialize, since he’s a stone-cold closer. If he gets it, he’s shown the ability to make up ground swiftly in the homestretch, most successfully when winning the 1 1/16-mile San Diego Handicap last summer at Del Mar. He’s been training steadily on Gulfstream’s main track during the past month-plus and has already proven that he takes his race with him all around the country, having competed at 10 different venues so far. Jockey Junior Alvarado rode Senor Buscador for the first time in the Cigar Mile and retains the mount in the Pegasus. Alvarado won last year’s Pegasus aboard longshot Art Collector.
Bet Senor Buscador in the Pegasus World Cup
Eclipse Sportswire
7. National Treasure (9-5)
Jockey: Flavien Prat
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Career record: 10 starts – 2 wins – 2 seconds – 2 thirds
Career earnings: $1,603,000
Earnings per start: $160,300
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 115
Pedigree: Quality Road – Treasure, by Medaglia d’Oro
Age: 4
Color: Bay
Running style: Pacesetter/press the pace
Notable achievements and interesting facts: The 2023 Preakness Stakes winner ships in from California for Saturday’s Pegasus World Cup as trainer Bob Baffert seeks his third win in the race. This speedy colt’s two best efforts – his win in the Preakness and his runner-up effort by a nose to Cody’s Wish in the 2023 Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Santa Anita Park back in November – have come when setting the pace. In fact, when he’s not forwardly placed National Treasure has not been much of a factor in his races, especially in his other five starts as a 3-year-old last year. Expect jockey Flavien Prat to send his mount to the front immediately and try to check off moderate fractions as best he can, with First Mission and one or two other horses in contention. If a backstretch duel materializes, it could set the Pegasus up for several longshot closers, but if National Treasure is able to coast alone on the lead, he could wire the field and join Mucho Gusto (2020) and the late, great Arrogate (2016) as Pegasus winners for Baffert.
Bet National Treasure in the Pegasus World Cup
Eclipse Sportswire
8. First Mission (7-2)
Jockey: Luis Saez
Trainer: Brad Cox
Owner: Godolphin
Career record: 5 starts – 3 firsts – 2 seconds – 0 thirds
Career earnings: $464,110
Earnings per start: $92,822
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 112
Pedigree: Street Sense – Elude, by Medaglia d’Oro
Age: 4
Color: Dark bay or brown
Running style: Press the pace/stalker
Notable achievements and interesting facts: Lightly raced First Mission has finished first or second in all five of his starts and is easily the Pegasus contender with the most upside. After a solid three-race string to kick off his career last spring, including a win in the 1 1/16-mile Stonestreet Lexington Stakes at Keeneland, the Godolphin homebred only raced twice more, overcoming traffic to rally and win a 1 1/16-mile allowance-optional claiming race in October at Keeneland and then just missing in the 1 1/8-mile Clark Stakes Presented by Norton Healthcare Nov. 24 at Churchill Downs, where Trademark edged him by a nose. Like several other Pegasus starters, he’ll be making his first appearance at Gulfstream Saturday, but First Mission has been training like a beast at Fair Grounds for Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox and appears ready for a huge effort coming back from the two-month break. He prefers to race just off of the early leader before striking and is set up to do just that breaking one post outside of probable pacesetter National Treasure. Jockey Luis Saez has ridden First Mission in four of his five starts and stays aboard Saturday. Cox won the 2021 Pegasus with Knicks Go.
Bet First Mission in the Pegasus World Cup
Coady Photography
9. Grand Aspen (8-1)
Jockey: Jose Ortiz
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Owner: PRO Thoroughbred Enterprises
Career record: 8 starts – 2 wins – 3 seconds – 1 third
Career earnings: $201,660
Earnings per start: $25,208
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 113
Pedigree: Dialed In – Lady Aspen, by Grand Reward
Age: 5
Color: Dark bay or brown
Running style: Press the pace/stalker
Notable achievements and interesting facts: Based on his last couple of starts, Grand Aspen arguably has the best shot at pulling off the Pegasus upset among Todd Pletcher’s three entrants. The Dialed In colt began his 3-year-old season with three good races on turf before moving to dirt last fall, and after making that switch he posted a close third-place finish in a 1 1/16-mile allowance-optional claiming race at Keeneland prior to winning a 1 1/8-mile allowance-optional claimer at Churchill Downs by 3 ½ lengths. That set Grand Aspen up for his stakes debut in the 1 1/16-mile Harlan’s Holiday Stakes Dec. 30 at Gulfstream, and he nearly pulled off a 10.40-1 upset under Jose Ortiz, yielding in the final strides to a rallying O’Connor, who won by a neck. Like First Mission, Grand Aspen appears to have unfulfilled potential through eight career starts, and if he can back up his Harlan’s Holiday effort Saturday he could topple several more accomplished foes and give Pletcher a second Pegasus victory following Life Is Good’s win in 2022.
Bet Grand Aspen in the Pegasus World Cup
Ryan Denver/EQUI-PHOTO
10. Il Miracolo (20-1)
Jockey: Javier Castellano
Trainer: Antonio Sano
Owner: Alexandres
Career record: 16 starts – 3 wins – 5 seconds – 2 thirds
Career earnings: $518,375
Earnings per start: $32,398
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 104
Pedigree: Gun Runner – Tapit’s World, by Tapit
Age: 4
Color: 104
Running style: Stalker
Notable achievements and interesting facts: This Gulfstream-based colt profiles as a candidate to consider for exacta and trifecta bets in the Pegasus as he’s hit the board in six out of seven starts going back to last May. He’s only won once in that span, however, and is a deserved longshot in Saturday’s race. Il Miracolo’s most recent victory came on Aug. 22 in the 1 1/16-mile Smarty Jones Stakes at Parx Racing; since then, he finished third in the Pennsylvania Derby, second by a head to O’Connor in the Hagyard Fayette Stakes at Keeneland, and then third again in the Clark Stakes Presented by Norton Healthcare at Churchill Downs, where he was 5 ½ lengths behind Trademark and First Mission. He’s a hard-trying type who is a cut below the main contenders in the Pegasus based on speed figures, and Il Miracolo will have to reach career-best form to keep up his string of in-the-money finishes under Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano. Castellano won the 2019 Pegasus aboard City of Light.
Bet Il Miracolo in the Pegasus World Cup
Chelsea Durand/NYRA
11. Crupi (20-1)
Jockey: Frankie Dettori
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Owner: St. Elias Stable and Repole Stable
Career record: 12 starts – 4 wins – 2 seconds – 3 thirds
Career earnings: $372,250
Earnings per start: $31,063
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 103
Pedigree: Curlin – Don’tforgetaboutme, by Malibu Moon
Age: 4
Color: Chestnut
Running style: Closer
Notable achievements and interesting facts: Despite entering the Pegasus off of back-to-back stakes wins, Crupi will probably go off at post time as the longest shot among Todd Pletcher’s three Pegasus starters. The son of Hall of Famer Curlin ships in from Aqueduct, where he won the 1 1/8-mile Discovery Stakes back in November and then the Queens County Stakes at the same distance Dec. 31. Those were wins three and four in a five-race string going back to July, and it will be interesting to see whether Crupi can maintain that good form against a Grade 1-caliber field. In his prior three starts in graded stakes, he finished seventh and ninth back in spring 2023 and then fifth in the Pennsylvania Derby last September, defeated by 7 ½ lengths. On the positive side, he posted a solid workout at Palm Beach Downs on Jan. 20 after coming south and also gets the services of international superstar jockey Frankie Dettori for the Pegasus. Crupi could fill out the superfecta or, less likely, the trifecta on Saturday afternoon if the early pace is swift. Pletcher won the 2022 Pegasus with Life Is Good.
Bet Crupi in the Pegasus World Cup
Eclipse Sportswire
12. Skippylongstocking (8-1)
Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione
Trainer: Saffie Joseph Jr.
Owner: Daniel Alonso
Career record: 20 starts – 6 wins – 2 seconds – 4 thirds
Career earnings: $1,594,185
Earnings per start: $79,709
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 109
Pedigree: Exaggerator – Twinkling, by War Chant
Age: 5
Color: Bay
Running style: Press the pace/stalker
Notable achievements and interesting facts: This well-traveled, South Florida-based horse gives trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. another decent chance to at least hit the board in the Pegasus, along with O’Connor. Like his stablemate, Skippylongstocking has had success at Gulfstream Park, winning three of nine starts there and finishing second once and third once. He’s also in good current form, having dominated the 1 1/8-mile Charles Town Classic Stakes by five lengths back in August and then finishing third behind Cody’s Wish and National Treasure in the Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Santa Anita Park. He was no match for the dueling top pair in the Dirt Mile, checking in 3 ¾ lengths behind that duo, but he was also 6 ½ lengths ahead of the fourth-place finisher. Skippylongstocking’s Equibase Speed Figures top out at a level below National Treasure, First Mission, O’Connor and several other Pegasus contenders and the outside post hurts his win chances as well. Tyler Gaffalione, who rode Skippylongstocking in the abovementioned two stakes races, retains the mount.
Bet Skippylongstocking in the Pegasus World Cup
13. Castle Chaos (also-eligible, 30-1)
Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione
Trainer: Robert Falcone Jr.
Owners: Sanford Goldfarb, Nice Guys Stables, and Robert Falcone Jr.
Career record: 13 starts – 3 wins – 3 seconds – 4 thirds
Career earnings: $280,460
Earnings per start: $21,574
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 107
Pedigree: Palace Malice – Queen Victoria, by Flatter
Age: 6
Color: Bay
Running style: Closer
Notable achievements and interesting facts: Castle Chaos will draw into the Pegasus field if one of the 12 starters in the main body of the field is withdrawn. If that happens, he’ll be a big longshot in the race coming in off of a third-place finish behind Hoist the Gold and Senor Buscador in the Cigar Mile Handicap Dec. 2 at Aqueduct. He checked in 8 ¾ lengths behind Hoist the Gold in the one-turn mile stakes race, which followed a win at the same track and distance in November. Despite being a son of Belmont Stakes winner Palace Malice, Castle Chaos has done his best running at distances ranging from six furlongs to one mile, and it would be a surprise to see him make an impact on the Pegasus outcome should he draw into the race. He is also entered in the main field for the Fred W. Hooper Stakes Presented by Whispering Angel two races earlier on Gulfstream’s Saturday card.
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