Gulfstream: Pegasus World Cup Winner Arrogate Favored in Saturday’s Dubai World Cup

By David Joseph —-

Pegasus World Cup Winner Arrogate Favored in Saturday’s Dubai World Cup
World Cup Program to be Simulcast at Gulfstream Beginning at 8:30 a.m.
Sharp Azteca, Neolithic, Keen Ice and Mind Your Biscuits on Program

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Arrogate, winner of the $12 million Pegasus World Cup (G1) Jan. 28 at Gulfstream Park, the world’s richest horse race, will be the overwhelming favorite Saturday in the $10 million Dubai World Cup (G1).

An easy winner of the inaugural Pegasus World Cup Jan. 28 by 4 3/4 lengths, Arrogate will be the star attraction on Dubai World Cup Day, which will be simulcasted at Gulfstream Park beginning Saturday morning. First race post at Gulfstream Saturday is 12:35 p.m.

Arrogate will be joined in the race by his stablemate and Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) winner Hoppertunity and Clark Handicap (G1) winner Gun Runner, third in last year’s Kentucky Derby (G1).

Neolithic, third in the Pegasus World Cup, and Keen Ice, fourth in the Pegasus, will also run in the Dubai World Cup.

Other horses who have shipped to the United Arab Emirates for World Cup Day include Hardacre Mile Gulfstream Park Handicap (G2) winner Sharp Azteca, who will run in the Godolphin Mile, and Grade I winner Mind Your Biscuits, second in the Gulfstream Park Sprint (G3) and one of the favorites in the Dubai Golden Shaheen.

Fans will be able to watch and wager on seven of the races on Dubai World Cup Day at Gulfstream Park. Silks will open at 8:30 a.m. with the first race, the Dubai Gold Cup, scheduled to go off at 8:50 a.m.

The Golden Shaheen has a post time of 10:35 a.m. while the World Cup is scheduled for 12:45 p.m.

Gunnevera, Practical Joke Top Nominees to $1 Million Florida Derby April 1
A Total of 192 Horses Nominated to Nine Stakes, Six Graded, Worth $2.25 Million

– Multiple graded stakes winner Gunnevera and two-time Grade 1 winner Practical Joke, the 1-2 finishers from the Fountain of Youth (G2) March 4, are nominated for a rematch in the $1 million Xpressbet.com Florida Derby (G1) April 1 at Gulfstream Park.

A total of 25 horses were nominated to the 66th running of the 1 1/8-mile Florida Derby for 3-year-olds, the signature event of Gulfstream’s Championship Meet and a major stepping stone on the road to the Triple Crown.

Peacock Racing Stables’ Gunnevera, trained by Antonio Sano, came from last to win the 1 1/16-mile Fountain of Youth by 5 ¾ lengths. It was the third graded triumph of his career following juvenile victories in the Saratoga Special (G2) and $1 million Delta Downs Jackpot (G3).

Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence’s Practical Joke made his sophomore debut in the Fountain of Youth, where he stalked Three Rules before edging away from the pacesetter by a half-length for second. He won the Hopeful (G1) and Champagne (G1) at 2 before finishing third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) to cap his juvenile season.

Multiple stakes winner Three Rules, who swept the Florida Sire Stakes for 2-year-olds in 2016, is also nominated. Trained by Jose Pinchin co-owners and breeders Shade Tree Thoroughbreds, Tom Fitzgerald and Geoff Roy, he was also second in the Swale (G2) Feb. 4 at Gulfstream to kick off his 3-year-old season.

Irish War Cry, seventh as the favorite following his Lambholm South Holy Bull (G2) victory Feb. 4 at Gulfstream, is also nominated along with Remsen (G2) winner Mo Town; Southwest (G3) winner One Liner; Gotham (G3) winner J Boys Echo; the Todd Pletcher-trained trio of Always Dreaming, Battalion Runner and Third Day, and Reeves Thoroughbred Racing’s Classic Rock, all on two-race win streaks; and multiple graded stakes-placed State of Honor.

First run in 1952, the Florida Derby has produced 43 starters that have gone on to win a remarkable 58 Triple Crown events: 23 in the Kentucky Derby (G1) including 2016 winner Nyquist, 19 in the Preakness (G1) and 16 in the Belmont Stakes (G1).

The Florida Derby is one of nine stakes, six of them graded, worth $2.25 million on the final Saturday of the Championship meet that drew a total of 192 nominations. It is joined by the $300,000 Honey Fox (G2), $250,000 Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2), $200,000 Pan American (G2), $200,000 Appleton (G3), $200,000 Orchid (G3), $100,000 Sir Shackleton, $100,000 Cutler Bay and $100,000 Sanibel Island.

Cover Photo: Arrogate; Eclipse Sportswire Photo

Gulfstream Park is a Stronach Group company, North America’s leading Thoroughbred racetrack owner/operator. The Stronach Group racetracks include Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park & Casino, Golden Gate Fields, Portland Meadows, Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course, home of the world-famous Preakness. The company owns and operates the Palm Meadows Training Center in Florida, and is one of North America’s top race horse breeders through its award-winning Adena Springs operation. The Stronach Group is one of the world’s largest suppliers of pari-mutuel wagering systems, technologies and services. Its companies include AmTote, a global leader in wagering technology; XpressBet, an Internet and telephone account wagering service; and Monarch Content Management, which acts as a simulcast purchase and sales agent of horseracing content for numerous North American racetracks and wagering outlets.