Pegasus: Yoshida Gets Favorite’s Role in $7 Million Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1

By David Joseph —-

Yoshida Gets Favorite’s Role in $7 Million Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1)

Inaugural 1 3/16-Mile Event Richest Turf Race in North America
Total of Nine Stakes, Six Graded, Worth $17.125 Million Jan. 26

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – WinStar Farm, China Horse Club, Starlight Racing and Head of Plains Partners’ Yoshida, already a rare Grade 1 winner on both turf and dirt, returns to the grass in search of his biggest payday yet in the inaugural $7 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1) Saturday, Jan. 26 at Gulfstream Park.

The debut of the 1 3/16-mile Pegasus Turf and the third running of the $9 million Pegasus World Cup (G1) – the richest races on either surface in North America – comprise the $16 million Pegasus World Cup Championship Invitational Series, headlining a blockbuster 12-race program featuring nine stakes, six graded, worth $17.125 million in purses.

First race post time is 11:30 a.m. EST. Post time for the Pegasus Turf is 4:50 p.m. EST. The race will be shown during NBC’s live national telecast from 4:30 to 6 p.m.

Yoshida was assigned Post 2 and installed as the 5-2 program favorite among 10 older horses entered during Tuesday morning’s post-position draw in Frankey’s Sports Bar at Gulfstream. The field features nine group or graded-stakes winners, including Yoshida’s Hall of Famer Bill Mott-trained stablemate Channel Maker.

A 5-year-old Japanese-bred son of Heart’s Cry, Yoshida made the first 10 starts of his career on the turf, including a trip abroad where he finished fifth by 1 ¼ lengths in the Queen Anne Stakes (G1) last June at Royal Ascot. He ran first or second in seven of those grass races, four of them wins, topped by the Turf Classic (G1) on the Kentucky Derby (G1) undercard in his 2018 debut.

Yoshida, who trains regularly over the dirt, was given his first shot on the main track in the historic Woodward (G1) at Saratoga in September, and he responded with an impressive come-from-behind two-length triumph. In his last start, he again came from well back to be fourth, beaten less than two lengths, in the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) Nov. 3 behind likely Pegasus World Cup favorite and 2018 Horse of the Year finalist Accelerate.

Since the same connections also own 2018 Florida Derby (G1) winner and Pegasus World Cup contender Audible, they decided to put Yoshida – out of the Canadian Frontier mare Hilda’s Passion – back on grass for the Pegasus Turf.

“He’s got a pedigree that would probably lend itself to turf or dirt. On the top side, maybe a little turf and dirt. The bottom side, his mother was a Grade 1 winner at the sprint distances … so he’s got a pedigree for both and he’s one of the odd horses that has transitioned from one to the other,” Mott said. “It’s probably debatable whether his dirt races are better than his turf races, and they may well be, but he’s a horse that won very nicely for us in the spring last year on the turf. He’s run with good company, and we weighed our options here and thought that maybe the turf was the spot to go this time.”

Following the Breeders’ Cup, Yoshida joined Mott’s winter string at Payson Park in Florida, where he shows six works over its main track since mid-December. Jose Ortiz, up in the Joe Hirsch and Breeders’ Cup, is named to ride back in the Pegasus Turf.

“We gave him a little bit of a break … when he came out of the Breeders’ Cup, but we kept him … jogging and training easily,” Mott said. “We made the decision to run in the Pegasus, so we started cranking him up and he’s done very well since then. He seems like since every work he’s picked up in condition and seems to be feeling very good with himself.”

Wachtel Stable, Gary Barber, R.A. Hill Stable and Reeves Thoroughbred Racing’s Channel Maker exits an off-the-board finish over a soft course in the Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1) Nov. 3. The 5-year-old son of grass champion English Channel won two of eight starts last year, dead-heating with Eclipse Award male turf finalist Glorious Empire in the Bowling Green (G2) and romping by 4 ½ lengths in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational (G1) in September.

“He’s very good. He had been in really great form during Saratoga and Belmont. He won a ‘Win and You’re In’ when he won the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic and we ran in the Breeders’ Cup Turf going a mile and a half. Very soggy turf that day, a lot more pace than maybe he had had when he won the Joe Hirsch,” Mott said. “We made the decision collectively to have him in the race that day and I think by doing that we kind of forced his hand a little too much and the turf was very soft and it just worked against him.

“He’s not a horse that has to be in front or up on the pace, it just happened that he won the Joe Hirsch so that was freshly in our mind when he went into the Breeders’ Cup. It wasn’t the day to have him up on the pace,” he added. “He’s a horse that’s not really one-dimensional by any means. It looks like the Pegasus is going to have some pace in it, so in that particular instance I don’t think we have to push him up toward the lead early in the race.”

Hall of Famer Javier Castellano will ride Channel Maker (12-1) from Post 3.

Before he attempts to win the Pegasus World Cup with Accelerate, trainer John Sadler will send out Woodford Racing’s Catapult in the Pegasus Turf, second choice on the morning line at 7-2. The 6-year-old son of turf champion and prolific sire Kitten’s Joy won the 1 1/8-mile Eddie Read (G2) and Del Mar Mile (G2) prior to the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1), where he was second by a half-length to Eclipse Award finalist Expert Eye.

“I think he’s better than he was last year. He had a little foot issue after the Del Mar Mile and we trained him right into the Breeders’ Cup, but he’s been perfect out of the Breeders’ Cup. I think he’s in tip-top shape,” Sadler said. “His record is so good. He won both those stakes at Del Mar, [and was] almost kind of an unlucky loser … in the Breeders’ Cup Mile so his record is very, very good. They might look at the distance, but he won the Eddie Read at a mile and an eighth and he’s a big, strong horse. He won’t have any problem with the distance.”

Catapult will break from Post 9 with Joel Rosario aboard.

Klaravich Stables and William H. Lawrence’s Bricks and Mortar, a 5-year-old son of late six-time Group 1 winner Giant’s Causeway, will be making just his eighth career start in the Pegasus Turf. He is undefeated in two tries over Gulfstream’s turf, breaking his maiden at first asking in February 2017 and returning from a 14 ½-month break between races to capture a one-mile optional claiming allowance Dec. 22.

Bricks and Mortar won each of his first four career starts including Manila Stakes and National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame (G2) in 2017, the latter by three-quarters of a length over Yoshida. Bricks and Mortar was third in his final two starts at 3, a half-length behind runner-up Yoshida in the Saranac (G3) and by a total of three-quarters of a length in the Hill Prince (G3), won by Yoshida.

“He’s a horse that always showed a lot of promise as a 3-year-old and unfortunately had some injuries and needed a long time away from racing,” trainer Chad Brown said. “We were able to get him back in time to have a real productive allowance race, and he seems ready to move forward. It’s a big jump to go right into a Grade 1 like this, but he’s a horse that’s doing well and he’s got that race under his belt. He’s fit and we’re happy to have a horse to participate.”

Irad Ortiz Jr., favored to earn his first Eclipse Award as champion jockey during Thursday’s ceremony at Gulfstream, will ride Bricks and Mortar (5-1) from Post 7.

Sunday Racing Co. Ltd’s Aerolithe, a Group 1 winner from Japan, and Michael Tabor, Mrs. John Magnier and Derrick Smith’s European Group 2 winner Magic Wand lend international intrigue to the Pegasus Turf. Both are females facing males, with Irish-bred Magic Wand having one previous North American start when fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1) Nov. 3. Irish jockey Wayne Lordan has the call from Post 1.

Aerolithe will be racing for the first time outside her native country. She has been first or second in nine of 13 lifetime starts, four of them wins, including victories over males in the 2017 NHK Mile Cup (G1) and 1 1/8-mile Mainichi Okan (G2) last October.

Florent Geroux, winner of the 2018 Pegasus with Horse of the Year Gun Runner, will be aboard from Post 4.

“She’s never shied away from the boys, and she always runs really well,” trainer Takanori Kikuzawa said through interpreter Kate Hunter, Pegasus World Cup field representative for the Japan Racing Association. “She’s got a very strong personality and likes the competition, so she’s in a good spot mentally, as well. This filly has got a lot of speed and, if you look at some of her previous races, she can really go to the front. If we get a good start we plan on going forward and hopefully staying there.”

Stronach Stables’ homebred Delta Prince will be making his 6-year-old debut in the Pegasus Turf. Trained by Jimmy Jerkens, the 6-year-old son of Street Cry has been worse than third just once in 11 lifetime starts, when fourth in the Woodbine Mile (G1) Sept. 15.

Winner of the King Edward (G2) over Woodbine’s turf last summer and second by a neck in the Fourstardave (G1) at Saratoga, both at one mile, Delta Prince returns to the grass after finishing third in the seven-furlong Bold Ruler (G3) over Aqueduct’s main track Nov. 2.

“We’re taking a little bit of a shot. He’s running further than he ever has in his life but he’s bred to go the route. The furthest I ever had him in was in a race going a mile and an eighth, the Knickerbocker, and we ended up having to scratch. I think as long as he rates kindly enough and gets a decent enough trip, he’ll get the distance,” Jerkens said. “The other day I gave him nice, easy mile around two turns just to see and make sure he didn’t turn the other way and get a little bit on the rank side because of it, and he didn’t. He rated like a baby and he finished up nice so I was really happy with it.”

Internationally acclaimed jockey Frankie Dettori has the call on Delta Prince (15-1) from Post 8.

Mike and Jules Iavarone, Jerry McClanahan, Christopher Dunn, William Marasa, Ritchie Robershaw and Mark Taylor’s Next Shares enters the Pegasus Turf having won three of his last four starts, the most recent a gutsy nose triumph in the 1 1/8-mile San Gabriel (G2) Jan. 5 at Santa Anita. An impressive 3 ¼-length winner of the Shadwell Turf Mile (G1) in October at Keeneland, he was in contention before fading to 13th in the Breeders’ Cup Mile to cap 2018.

“There was so much rain that day, and he drew inside, and it was really bad. The inside part of the turf was really boggy, and he got covered up and just spun his wheels. Those are the best horses in the world, obviously, and they ran a mile in 1:38 so that tells you how soft the turf was,” trainer Richard Baltas said. “That being said, he was doing great going into that race.

“He’s just getting good. He’s a gelding, so I think he’s probably just coming into his own. He seems like a very happy horse,” he added. “He’s just been in good form. He ran a big race again, and he came back really good. I walked him from the track [the other] morning and he was coming out of his skin. He’s happy.”

Next Shares (15-1) will be ridden by Tyler Gaffalione from Post 5.

Bran Jam Stable and David W. Clark’s Fahan Mura punched his ticket to the Pegasus Turf with a front-running three-quarter-length victory in the 1 1/8-mile Robert J. Frankel (G3) Dec. 29 at Santa Anita. Also by English Channel, the 5-year-old former claimer is the most experienced runner in the field with 23 starts, nine of them wins. Regular rider Edwin Maldonado returns in the irons from Post 6.

“I think when Edwin Maldonado started riding her, he just let her loose on the front end and she maintained her speed and just got more and more confident and was just able to beat better and better horses,” trainer Vladimir Cerin said. “She only went over a mile and an eighth once, and I think the longer the distances are the more relaxed the pace is and she may be able to maintain a greater advantage for a little longer. I think she has a pretty good chance.”

Rounding out the field is Ron Paolucci Racing’s Dubby Dubbie. The gelded 4-year-old son of 2010 Florida Derby winner Ice Box most recently won a second level optional claiming allowance going 1 1/8 miles over a yielding Churchill Downs course Nov. 23, and ran third in the American Derby (G3) last summer. Luca Panici has the mount from outside Post 10.

Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) Post-Position Draw Quotes

Co-Owner Elliott Walden, WinStar Farm (Yoshida, PP #2, 5-2): “We’re happy with that. I always like saving ground, especially on the turf, and we’ll go from there. I always like to be the favorite, because it feels like you’re in the right spot if you’re the favorite. It doesn’t mean he’s going to win but it means he’s in with a big chance. I think he’s training extremely well. Couldn’t be happier with the way he’s done since the Breeders’ Cup. He’s so versatile, he runs on the dirt and runs on the turf. That’s a real plus for him.”

Trainer John Sadler (Catapult, PP #9, 7-2): “Catapult drew on the outside, but that’s not a bad draw from him. He’s a turf horse at a long distance that settles and then puts his run in.”

Trainer Takanori Kikuzawa, through interpreter Kate Hunter, Pegasus World Cup field representative for the Japan Racing Association (Aerolithe, PP #4, 8-1): “Since Yoshida and Magic Wand are on the inside of her, the post-position will be good because she’s on the outside of them. She’ll go forward more likely at the beginning of the race, so I’m very happy with the post position.”

Co-owner Michael Iavarone (Next Shares, PP #5, 15-1): “I think it is great. I don’t think it was that incredibly important to us. I didn’t want to be all the way on the outside. But I think it ended up being really, really good. Speed is outside of us, so I don’t think we are going to be trapped on the rail.”

Owner Ron Paolucci (Dubby Dubbie, PP #10, 30-1): “I love the post. The filly coming from California [Fahan Mura] is very fast. My horse has blinkers and he’s a little keyed up sometimes and if a horse was to go by him on the outside and come over, he might try to go after him Whereas with this post we can kind of relax and let [Fahan Mara] do her thing and act like she isn’t in the race.”

Cover Photo: Yoshida; Chelsea Durand Photo

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