Pegasus News & Notes: Albarado on Mystik Dan for Pegasus World Cup:‘I’m Expecting Him to Win’

By David Joseph —-

Mystic Dan; G. Sonny Hughes Photo

Pegasus World Cup Day News & Notes

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Retired jockey Robby Albarado knows Mystik Dan very well and expects a big performance from the 2024 Kentucky Derby (G1) winner in Saturday’s $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) at Gulfstream Park.

Albarado won 5,222 races – 39 of them Grade 1 – during his 31-year-career. Retired since Dec. 2021, Albarado now works for trainer Kenny McPeek as an exercise rider and climbs aboard Mystik Dan most every morning.

“He’s doing really well and he could win,” Albarado said Wednesday. “I’m not expecting him to just hit the board and give a good showing. I’m expecting him to win.”

Mystik Dan won the Derby by a nose at 18-1, finished second in the Preakness (G1) and was eighth in Belmont Stakes (G1). McPeek gave the son of Goldencents several months off and brought him back for the seven-furlong Malibu (G1) Dec. 26 at Santa Anita Park. After the lengthy van ride from New Orleans to suburban Los Angeles, Mystik Dan ended up last in the field of six.

Albarado said the trip may have contributed to his performance in the Malibu and said he likes the way the colt is coming into the 1 1/8-mile Pegasus World Cup.

“He’s not a big horse. Any little thing he does extra takes something out of him,” Albarado said. “I think he’s trained well since then, moved forward. He’s had two really good works, which shows you he likes the track. This morning was one of the best he’s ever gone. I’m really excited about him.”

Mystik Dan has turned in two bullet works under Albarado, fastest on the day at Gulfstream, and McPeek decided he was ready for his first try against older horses. He covered five furlongs in 59.48 seconds Jan. 11 and was timed in 59.95 for the distance on Saturday.

Albarado has watched Mystik Dan progress since he arrived at McPeek’s barn two years ago. He said the colt has the right attitude to be a success.

“He’s professional about everything,” Albarado said. “He does whatever you want him to do. Faster. Slower. He’s got gears to him. Just a very athletic horse. In football terms he’d probably be a running back. He’s got good quickness and he’s sharp. He can make moves, like you saw in the Derby, how he went through spots like running backs. He’s a good horse. I couldn’t be more happy with him.”

Trainer Correas Seeking Pegasus Defense with Chilean G1 Winner Dona Clota

Though it won’t be with last year’s winner, Didia, trainer Ignacio ‘Nacho’ Correas IV will attempt to defend his title when he sends out multiple Chilean Group 1 winner Dona Clota for her North American debut in Saturday’s $500,000 TAA Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf (G2) presented by SirDavis American Whiskey at Gulfstream Park.

John Stewart of Resolute Racing purchased 4-year-old filly Dona Clota privately following back-to-back victories in the Nacional Ricardo Lyon (G1) and El Ensayo MEGA (G1) last fall at Club Hippico in her native Chile where she has raced exclusively with a record of 4-2-2 from 11 starts.

“I was in touch with [the] trainer in Chile. I asked him to work her seven-eighths before she shipped, so she did and she was very good in her work according to him,” Correas said. “Everything he told me and the way she acts, it seems that she’s a very classy, good-looking filly and very easy to be around.”

Didia was bred and raced in Argentina, where she won two Group 1 races, before coming to the U.S. to capture the 2023 Modesty (G3) in her North American debut. She opened 2024 with a popular neck victory in the Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf, and two starts later won the New York (G1) at Saratoga.

“Didia was proven in America already. This filly is not proven but they are pretty similar in what they have done down south,” Correas said. “This filly was an extraordinary filly in South America. The background is the same; the only thing is when Didia got here had more experience.”

Correas, 65, comes from an Argentine family that has bred racehorses since 1872. After a successful stint as a trainer at home, he came to the U.S. in 2002 and got his first job as an assistant to Billy Badgett, now the executive director of Florida racing operations for Pegasus host 1/ST Racing.

In addition to Didia, Correas’ top runners in the U.S. have been three horses bred in Argentina – Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) winner Blue Prize, Grade 2 winner Kasaqui and Grade 3 winner Dona Bruja. For Resolute also trains multiple Group 1-placed Australian mare Tutta La Vita, entered in Saturday’s $100,000 South Beach Handicap going one mile and 70 yards on the all-weather Tapeta.

“The owner, they let you give the time. It is not something that I came up with. You look at [Hall of Fame trainers Charlie] Whittingham, [Ron] MaAnally, [Richard] Mandella, [Neil] Drysdale over all these years they have been extremely successful with South American horses. There is a lot of things that you need to do and I try to learn from them and the campaigns of the horses that they had before.”

Dona Clota is rated at 15-1 on the morning line for the Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf. She will break from Post 6 with jockey Jose Ortiz, who also rode Didia.

“Big races is never another day. Not only for me it’s for the team, for the owner and for everybody it’s an honor,” Correas said. “The fact that we are here is already very nice. If we get to win it, what else can you ask?”

Grade 1 Winner Nobals Making Gulfstream Park Debut in $165K Turf Sprint

Patricias Hope’s millionaire Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1) winner Nobals will take his first steps toward a possible return to the year-end world championships when he launches his 6-year-old season in Saturday’s $165,000 Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint.

The five-furlong dash for 4-year-olds and up is among 10 stakes, seven graded, worth $5.625 million in purses on a blockbuster 13-race Pegasus World Cup Day program.

Midwest-based trainer Larry Rivelli decided only hours before the field was drawn for the Gulfstream Turf Sprint to send Nobals, satisfied with his recovery from a 32-hour round trip to Hong Kong and a fever which forced him to be scratched four days after arriving for the Dec. 8 Hong Kong Turf Sprint at Sha Tin.

“I had this race on the radar a little bit,” Rivelli said. “He had gotten back from Hong Kong and I wanted to make sure he had the right amount of time and was doing as good as he’s doing. I had him entered in one race that got canceled and another race at Fair Grounds that came off the turf. He’s ready to run and this spot came up.”

Nobals owns 11 wins from 22 career starts with $1.636 million in purse earnings. Nine of his wins have come in stakes, none bigger than his Breeders’ Cup upset at odds of 12-1 in 2023. He had one victory in four starts last year, taking the Kennedy Road (G2) sprinting six furlongs on Woodbine’s all-weather course in mid-November, his last race.

“This will be his first race back since being overseas. The last time he ran he ran a bang-up race in Canada. Hopefully he can get back to his Breeders’ Cup form,” Rivelli said. “It looks like rain there and if it comes off he’s probably better on a synthetic track, or just as good.”

Nobals is a gelded bay son of multiple European Group 1 winner Noble Mission and grandson of 2003 Florida Derby (G1) and Belmont (G1) winner Empire Maker. He has raced at 11 different racetracks around the country, with records of 6-2-0 in nine tries on synthetics and 5-1-0 in 13 races on grass.

“He’s a one-of-a-kind horse, that’s for sure,” Rivelli said. “He’s just a cool dude. He’s always been a sound horse, which is the main thing. He ships well, which was a shock for us when he got the fever in Hong Kong, but that’s a whole different animal being on a plane and in a crate for all that time. He takes his race with him wherever he goes.”

Nobals’ four starts last year was a career low, coming off a high of seven races in 2023. Racing for the first time at Gulfstream, he will break from Post 9 in an overflow field of 16 for the Gulfstream Turf Sprint with familiar Midwest-based rider E.T. Baird aboard.

“We’ve managed him well. We give him time off in the winter most of the time every year before we bring him back,” Rivelli said. “Last year I had my sights set on running in the Breeders’ Cup and it’s really kind of my fault [he didn’t]. We ran twice against Cogburn and he beat us both times, so I was just going to look for an easier spot. We did, and he won the race, but in hindsight being that Cogburn didn’t show up for the Breeders’ Cup, I really think [Nobals] would have won or been 1-2-3 anyway. Probably my fault for trying to duck one horse, but that’s what we did. My goal is to run him back in the Breeders’ Cup this year.”

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 and San Luis Rey Downs (California); Gulfstream Park – home of the Pegasus World Cup and Palm Meadows Thoroughbred Training Center (Florida); Laurel Park, The 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 email david.joseph@gulfstreampark.com and visit www.1st.com or follow @1ST_racing on Twitter or @1stracing on Instagram and Facebook.