Gulfstream: $3 Million Pegasus (G1) Possible for Kentucky Derby Winner Mage

By David Joseph —-

$3 Million Pegasus (G1) Possible for Kentucky Derby Winner Mage

Race ‘In the Pipeline’ for Classic Winner

$100K Rainbow 6 Gross Jackpot Guarantee, New Post Time for Friday

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Mage, withdrawn from last weekend’s Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) with a fever, is being pointed to a 2024 campaign that could launch in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) at Gulfstream Park.

The 1 1/8-mile Pegasus for 4-year-olds and up headlines a spectacular Jan. 27 program featuring seven graded-stakes worth $5.2 million in purses including the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1) and $500,000 Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf Invitational (G3).

Co-owner Remiro Restrepo said that Mage is among a ‘big majority’ of the stable’s horses that remain at The Thoroughbred Center in Lexington, Ky. before shipping to their winter home at Gulfstream, where Mage broke his maiden in debut Jan. 28 before running fourth in the Fountain of Youth (G2) and second in the Curlin Florida Derby (G1) presented by Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms at Xalapa April 1.

“The winter home for us is Gulfstream Park, for the entire barn. The horses are there all winter through the end of March, and then the ones that go to Keeneland for any races ship up immediately. The [others] transition to The Thoroughbred Center between the first and the 30th of April [when] the rest of them ship over,” Restrepo said. “Everybody’s trying to ship down [to Florida]. We’ve still got a few more horses to ship down from Kentucky, but we do have a big majority of the horses still up there.”

Following the Kentucky Derby, Mage finished third in the Preakness (G1) and second in the Haskell (G1) before running seventh in the Travers (G1) Aug. 26 at Saratoga, his most recent start. He breezed four times at The Thoroughbred Center in October and was pre-entered in the Classic but had his name removed after missing a planned work Oct. 29, the day before he was scheduled to fly to Santa Anita Park for the Breeders’ Cup.

“He was doing perfect before the Classic. If you were to have asked me 24 hours before he jumped on the plane, I would have said, ‘We couldn’t be happier. He’s doing as good as he was before the Derby, we’re ready to rock,’” Restrepo said. “And then, 24 hours later, you have to say, ‘Holy smokes. He missed two meals and caught a slight temp.’ How could we jump on the plane? The most incredible thing is, we make plans, and the horses decide whether to execute them or not.

“It’s one of those things. It sums up horse racing, right? A lot of things happen outside of your control. They’re animals so you have to be their stewards,” he added. “Unfortunately, we were forced to miss the race and now we’re just kind of taking a step back and looking at our options. We’re looking at the racing calendar for 2024 and figuring out what the best course of action is.”

The Pegasus has showcased some of racing’s top older horses to either cap an outstanding career or use as a springboard to later glory. Inaugural 2017 winner Arrogate beat two-time Horse of the Year California Chrome, making his final start, raced four more times was inducted into the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame in 2023. Gun Runner, the 2017 Horse of the Year, won the 2018 Pegasus in his finale, as did four-time Grade 1 winner City of Light in 2019.

Knicks Go parlayed a 2021 Pegasus victory into Horse of the Year honors, then came back to be second in 2022 in his final race behind Life Is Good, who went on to win three more graded-stakes including the Whitney (G1) and Woodward (G1). Art Collector sprung a 15-1 upset in this year’s edition for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott.

“Obviously he’s a horse with a lot of fans and he accomplished an amazing thing [this] year. There’s a lot of people that are curious. There’s been a lot of horses retired this year, a pretty prominent number of horses, but we’re running in 2024. That’s the most important thing,” Restrepo said. “When the time comes, we’ll start hunkering down on a calendar for the year, some targets, and figure that out. Yes, the Pegasus is definitely one of the possibilities. There’s just a lot of things to consider. We’ll figure that out when we can.”

A Miami native currently attending horse sales in Kentucky, Restrepo owns Mage with Brian Doxtater and Case Chamberlin’s CMNWLTH, assistant trainer Gustavo Delgado Jr.’s OGMA Investments, and Sam Herzberg’s Sterling Racing. Purchased for $290,000 and trained by Gustavo Delgado Sr., Mage has two wins, two seconds, one third and $2,507,450 in purse earnings from seven starts.

“There’s just so much going on. We just finished up a big sale [Tuesday] night. Now we’ve got 12 days of selling here, and there’s no race tomorrow,” Restrepo said. “So, you put that on the back burner. You say, ‘Let’s get through this season and we’ll get to that when we do.’

“He’s running [next year]. There’s no question about that,” he added. “Our goal is to have him ready for an awesome 2024; however, many races or locations or whatever it may be is what we’ve all got to decide as a team. That’s what we’re going to work on once we get a little time. [The Pegasus] is 11 weeks away, it’s not something we’ve got to focus on right now. I know that it’s in the pipeline, and we’ll just go from there.”

$100K Rainbow 6 Gross Jackpot Guarantee, New Post Time for Friday

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 gross jackpot pool will be guaranteed at $100,000 when racing returns to Gulfstream Park Friday with a nine-race program and a new post time of 12:10 p.m.

The popular multi-race wager has gone unsolved for seven racing programs following a mandatory payout Oct. 21.

Friday’s Rainbow 6 spans Races 4-9 and includes a pair of maiden special weight events for 2-year-olds. Race 5, for juvenile fillies sprinting 5 ½ furlongs on the all-weather Tapeta, is led by two daughters of Gun Runner making their career debut – Tami Bobo’s Perilous, trained by Sunshine Meet co-leader Jose D’Angelo, and Run for Home from the barn of Hall of Famer Mark Casse.

The feature comes in Race 6, an optional claiming allowance for 2-year-old fillies going one mile and 70 yards on the Tapeta. The 9-5 program favorite is Refugiada, a maiden claiming winner in debut Sept. 22 that was third, beaten a half-length, in a similar spot Oct. 13, both at Gulfstream. Cat One makes her second straight Tapeta start after finishing second, a nose ahead of Refugiada, last time out.

Race 7 is a seven-furlong main track sprint for 2-year-old fillies that drew a field of eight including Bobo and D’Angelo’s first-timer Deflection, by 2018 Triple Crown champion Justify; Robert and Lawana Low’s Happy Together, a $425,000 daughter of champion Speightstown debuting for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher; and My Purple Haze Stable’s Brookmesa, runner-up in a 6 ½-furlong maiden special weight Sept. 24 at Gulfstream.

The Rainbow 6 jackpot is paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. One days when there is no unique ticket, 70 percent of that day’s pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.

About The Stronach Group and 1/ST

The Stronach Group is a world-class technology, entertainment and real estate development company with Thoroughbred racing and pari-mutuel wagering at the core. The Stronach Group’s 1/ST business (pronounced “First”) is North America’s preeminent Thoroughbred racing and pari-mutuel wagering company and includes the 1/ST RACING & GAMING, 1/ST CONTENT, 1/ST TECHNOLOGY and 1/ST EXPERIENCE businesses, while advocating for and driving the 1/ST HORSE CARE mission. 1/ST represents The Stronach Group’s continued movement toward redefining Thoroughbred racing and the ecosystem that drives it. 1/ST RACING & GAMING drives the best-in-class racing operations and gaming offerings at the company’s premier racetracks and training centers including: Santa Anita Park, Golden Gate Fields and San Luis Rey Downs (California); Gulfstream Park – home of the Pegasus World Cup Championship Invitational Series, Gulfstream Park West and Palm Meadows Thoroughbred Training Center (Florida); the Maryland Jockey Club at Laurel Park, Pimlico Race Course – home of the legendary Preakness Stakes, Rosecroft Raceway and Bowie Training Center (Maryland). 1/ST CONTENT is the operating group for 1/ST’s media and content companies including: Monarch Content Management, Elite, TSG Global Wagering Solutions (GWS) and XBTV. 1/ST TECHNOLOGY is racing’s largest racing and gaming technology company offering world-class products via its AmTote, Xpressbet, 1/ST BET, XB SELECT, XB NET, PariMAX and Betmix brands. 1/ST EXPERIENCE blends the worlds of sports, entertainment and hospitality through innovative content development, elevated national and local venue management and hospitality, strategic partnerships, sponsorships, and procurement development. As the advocate for critical industry reforms and by making meaningful investments into aftercare programs for retired horses and jockeys, 1/ST HORSE CARE represents The Stronach Group’s commitment to achieving the highest level of horse and rider care and safety standards in Thoroughbred racing on and off the track. The Stronach Group’s TSG Properties is responsible for the development of the company’s live, play and work communities surrounding its racing venues including: The Village at Gulfstream Park (Florida) and Paddock Pointe (Maryland). For more information, please email david.joseph@gulfstreampark.com, visit www.1st.com or follow @1ST_racing on Twitter or @1stracing on Instagram and Facebook.