RACE PREVIEW: GRADE 1 PEGASUS WORLD CUP

By Matt Pappis
Tracksideview Staff Writer —-

Thoroughbred racing’s richest contest,the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup, will take place on January 28 at Gulfstream Park. The $12 million purse will surpass both the Dubai World Cup and the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Each owner in the race will pay an entry fee of $1 million or partnering with a group who has paid $1 million to have the rights to a starting gate spot. Lets take a look at some of the contenders below.

Arrogate: The winner of the Travers and the Breeders’ Cup Classic will be coming in off a 2.5 month layoff, which shouldn’t pose a problem as he is conditioned by one of the best in Bob Baffert, and proving it with his Classic victory. As many of you know, before the Travers and then again in the Classic, I said that he was another kind of horse, and if he runs his race, he’ll be very difficult for anyone to beat.

California Chrome: Everyone knows about California Chrome at this point, but one thing that most might not know is he struggles beating the big time horses. Remember when he ran against Shared Belief, Bayern and Tonalist, he lost to them all. Can anyone name the best horse he has beaten, because it’s up for debate.

Gun Runner: Maybe the most intriguing entry of all if connections decide to run. He is coming in of a big win in the Grade 1 Clark and has the pedigree to continue to get better with time. He might not be able to overcome Arrogate and Chrome but he is going to be a major player on the east coast in this division.

Keen Ice: Keen Ice is mostly commonly known for upsetting American Pharaoh in last years Travers. What most don’t know is he’s now under the care of Todd Pletcher who dominates at Gulfstream making him an interesting candidate for the exotics.

Stanford: Another Pletcher trainee who was dominant in his prep for this race when beating Keen Ice. He won’t find himself alone on the lead this time and will need to run the race of his life to compete here.

Neolithic: This entry will also go out for Starlight Racing with Todd Pletcher training. Starlight was hoping to run a more legitimate contender when they purchased their spot last year, but they won’t have that luxury.

War Story: Was impressive when winning the Queens County, but this is a big step up in class and he was well beaten by Keen Ice, Arrogate and Chrome in the Classic.

Eragon: The owners of Runhappy bring this contender in to fill Runhappy’s spot. I can not tell you I know much about him, but he is a consistent runner hitting the board in 4 of his last 5 starts.

There are still a lot of deals to be done to fill the starting gate for this spectacular event, but if the race shapes up like I expect, I will be betting on Arrogate to win and to end many pick 4’s and 5’s.