Mike Curry offers takeaways from Pegasus World Cup day at Gulfstream Park, where Skippylongstocking and sunny Florida took center stage on a weekend when snow and ice blanketed much of the Midwest and East Coast.

WORTHY VICTOR: Skippylongstocking’s victory in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes Jan. 24 at Gulfstream Park was a triumph years in the making. He had won 10 graded stakes without a win at the Grade 1 level and was making his fourth start in the Pegasus, with a third-place finish in 2025 his best result. The 7-year-old by Exaggerator swept past stablemate White Abarrio in the final sixteenth of a mile for a career-defining win. Saffie Joseph Jr. trains Skippylongstocking for owner Daniel Alonso. “He’s taken us on an amazing ride,” Alonso said. “To win the Grade 1 here at home in front of our friends and family, it means everything.”

An emotional Saffie Joseph Jr. with Withe Abarrio. (Eclipse Sportswire)

VALIANT IN DEFEAT: Last year’s Pegasus winner, White Abarrio, led into deep stretch in his repeat bid and ran a game race in defeat, finishing second in his first start since a fifth-place finish Aug. 31 at Saratoga Race Course in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. The 7-year-old by Race Day, also trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., had been the subject of speculation and debate since he was scratched by veterinarians before the 2025 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. The 2023 Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic winner boosted his career earnings to more than $7.7 million with the runner-up finish. “I’m so proud of White Abarrio. I can’t believe how he ran for the preparation that he had, to come back the way he just did,” Joseph said. “I’m just proud of both horses and happy for both owners.”

POETRY IN MOTION: Test Score and One Stripe gave trainer Graham Motion a sweep of the top two spots in the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes. Test Score at 7.60-1 odds held off his stablemate, the 4.30-1 second betting choice, by a neck to pass a significant test. The 4-year-old Lookin At Lucky colt has competed exclusively against 3-year-olds in 2025, winning a Grade 1 and two other graded stakes, but facing older horses was a new challenge. “Today was a huge step with him,” Motion said. “I think he's going to be a force to be reckoned with. He’s really been so consistent all year as a 3-year-old. … I think he proved he could well be one of the best turf horses in the country.”

Knightsbridge wins Fred W. Hooper (Eclipse Sportswire)

NO HEDGE KNIGHT: Make no mistake, Knightsbridge has the look of a true knight — forgive the “Game of Thrones” reference, but “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” is such a great show! — after extending his winning streak to three with a dominant 4 ¾-length romp as the 4-5 favorite in the $175,000 Fred W. Hooper Stakes Presented by Visit Lauderdale on the Pegasus World Cup undercard. Pressured early through a swift pace in the one-mile dirt race by second betting choice Life and Times, Knightsbridge proved up to the task under a confident ride from Junior Alvarado. The 5-year-old Godolphin homebred easily vanquished his challenger and coasted to a convincing triumph, his fifth in seven starts. Knightsbridge is a half-brother to Grade 1 winner Speaker’s Corner, who won the Hooper in 2022, and his grandam (maternal grandmother) is 2006 Breeders’ Cup Distaff winner Round Pond.

DANCING BLUES: Disco and tap were outshined by the simple skip in the Pegasus World Cup as 26.10-1 longshot Skippylongstocking flashed all the right moves while promising 4-year-olds Disco Time and Tappan Street disappointed in the $3 million race. Previously unbeaten Disco Time, the heavy 3-2 favorite in a 12-horse field, tired to finish eighth after setting the pace and was 11 ¾ lengths behind the winner. Tappan Street, the 3.30-1 second choice and the only horse to defeat 2025 Horse of the Year Sovereignty in 2025, was in a good spot within five lengths of the pace after a half-mile but faded to finish last. It was the first time Tappan Street had run outside the top two for Brad Cox, who trains both colts. “Disappointed,” Cox said. “They went quick and [Disco Time] didn’t get any separation into the far turn. He just couldn’t get any separation and go forward. I thought Tappan Street was sitting a good trip. I was waiting for him to show up on the far turn and he never did.”