PEGASUS STAKES RECAPS

By David Joseph —-

Maryquitecontrary Captures $200,000 Inside Information (G2)

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Maryquitecontrary added to her growing reputation Saturday, extending her win streak to five and picking up her first graded-stakes victory in the Inside Information (G2) at Gulfstream Park.

The Inside Information was the first graded stakes victory for veteran trainer Joseph Catanese III.

The $200,000 Inside Information was the second of seven graded stakes on the 13-race blockbuster Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) presented by Baccarat program that includes the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1) presented by Qatar Racing and the $500,000 TAA Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf Invitational (G3) presented by Pepsi.

With a strong off-the- pace run from far back under jockey Luca Pacini, Maryquitecontrary took the lead at the sixteenth pole and won the seven-furlong race for older fillies and mares by 2 ½ lengths over Colorful Mischief. Fire On Time, who had set much of the pace, was third.

The early fractions of 22.41 and 45.38 seconds suited the Maryquitecontrary’s running style. She was on the move entering the turn and, racing wide in the stretch, easily made the lead.

Sent off at 5-2, Maryquitecontrary, bred and owned by Rodney G. Lundock, paid $7.20. Odds-on favorite Obligatory, a four-time graded stakes winner, was never a factor in the Inside Information and finished XXXXX.

$200,000 Inside Information (G2) Quotes

Winning trainer Joseph Catanese III (Maryquitecontrary): “She keeps getting better and better. She’s a pleasure. We’ll keep finding races for her here.”

Winning Luca Panici (Maryquitecontrary): “I was squeezed after the break. She was a little bit nervous and I lost a half-length after the break but they were running in front and I was sitting confident like always with her. When I got to the clear she started to kick, and she kicked until the end. She’s improving race after race, and today she showed what she can do.

Pegasus: Maker Runners Dominate in $150,000 William L. McKnight (G3) – Red Knight Leads Top Three Finish for Trainer in 1 ½-Mile Turf Event

Trainer Mike Maker managed to top his previous four victories in the $150,000 William L. McKnight (G3) presented by Davidoff Cigars Saturday by saddling the top three finishers in Saturday’s 1 ½-mile turf stakes at Gulfstream Park.

Trinity Farm’s 9-year-old Red Knight ($8.60) won the McKnight by a length over stablemate Value Engineering, who went off at 10-1. It was another length back to 45-1 long shot Wicked Fast with another Maker-trained horse, Temple, running fifth.

The McKnight was the third of seven graded stakes on the 13-race blockbuster Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) presented by Baccarat program that includes the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1) presented by Qatar Racing and the $500,000 TAA Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf Invitational (G3) presented by Pepsi.

Maker picked up his first McKnight win in 2017 and repeated in 2018. His runners finished first and second in the 2019 and 2021 editions of the race.

Red Knight, Trinity Farm’s homebred son of Pure Prize, earned his 11th victory in 32 career starts. He spent the early years of his career with Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott and was transferred to Maker’s care in 2022. He has three wins in five starts for Maker.

Bidding to repeat in the McKnight, the favorite Abaan, trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, quickly grabbed the lead in the three-turn test and led the way early with a quarter-mile in 24.18 seconds. Agitare moved up to provide pace pressure and the half-mile was run in 48.27 with three-quarters going in 1:12.67.

Red Knight and others closers arrived in the stretch, moved into contention and surged to the lead. The winning time was 2:25.11 over a firm course.

$150,000 William L. McKnight (G3) Quotes

Winning trainer Mike Maker (Red Knight): “[Jockey] Irad [Ortiz Jr.] had Red Knight settled in the back of the pace. The pace was hot, which favored him. The rest is history.

“I had a lot of confidence in him. The first time he ran for us, he hadn’t run in a year and won. He likes to run fresh. He loves his job.”

“One, two, three and five. We just missed the superfecta. Every horse ran a great race and I’m proud.”

Winning Irad Ortiz Jr. (Red Knight): “Thank God I had a good trip from tough post 11; he’s perfect for the distance because he relaxes very well. With five furlongs to go he started to gain ground on the outside and I just let him do his thing.”

“This one’s really special because my family is here. My wife, my parents and my daughters are all here with me. They are my driving force, what keeps me going day after day, all supporting me 100 percent of the time.”

Pegasus: Personal Best Delivers Solid Victory in $150,000 La Prevoyante (G3)

Patiently ridden by jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr., Personal Best glided to the lead in late stretch and won $150,000 La Prevoyante (G3) presented by Don Julio by a neck over Transient Saturday at Gulfstream Park.

The La Prevoyante was the first of seven graded stakes on the 13-race blockbuster Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) presented by Baccarat program that includes the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1) presented by Qatar Racing and the $500,000 TAA Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf Invitational (G3) presented by Pepsi.

Personal Best, bred and owned by Joseph Allen and trained by Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey, prevailed in her first try in a graded stake. Ortiz kept the gray daughter of Tapit back off the pace set by Adventuring the even-money favorite. Following Transient, he moved her into contention on the outside in the last of the three turns in the 1 ½ miles race for older fillies and mares. Transient collared Adventuring as they approached the middle of the stretch and the 4-year-old Personal Best rolled to the lead a few strides later.

The 6-5 second choice in the wagering, Personal Best paid $4.60 for her third victory in a nine-race career. The final time was 2:26.04 over a firm course.

Godolphin’s Adventuring went off as the 3-2 favorite in the field of seven and finished third. She set a sharp fraction of 23.48 seconds for the first quarter and followed with times of 48.19 and 1:13.57.

$150,000 La Prevoyante (G3) Quotes

Winning trainer Shug McGaughey (Personal Best): “I thought Irad rode her perfectly. There was a little speed in front of her and she was tracking really good. He said at the 3/8ths pole, he was loaded. She has a little bit of a tendency to hang, but he just didn’t let her do that today.”

“She’s still kind of lightly raced and has some things to learn. In few of her races, she wanted to be in her bridle too much, not bad. Today she was very relaxed. I think as we go along, I think we should have some fun with her.”

Winning jockey Irad Ortiz Jr (Personal Best): “Another great start, and the mare was much more relaxed today; that was key to the perfect trip we had, and by the 3/8th’s pole she was full of run and I let her go.

“I think the track is playing fair; it all depends on how fast or how slow the pace is.”

Queen Goddess takes care of business in Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Queen Goddess had never shown much of an affinity for racing outside of California, where she has never once finished worse than third.

But the 5-year-old mare put her East Coast issues to rest Saturday with a 1 ½-length victory in the $500,000 TAA Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Invitational (G3) presented by Pepsi at Gulfstream Park.

The 1 1/16-mile turf race for fillies and mares, which was contested under a gray sky, was the first of three stakes – all graded – in the Pegasus trifecta of events to cap the 13-race program.

And Queen Goddess and jockey Luis Saez ruled it, holding off 9-5 program favorite Shantisara for the victory, her first outside California, with Lady Rockstar 2 ¾ lengths in third.

“She ran pretty big,” Saez said. “Today she proved she’s a beautiful and special filly. We knew she had a lot of speed but inside they had speed, too, so the plan was to try to follow the speed and be right behind, and everything went according to plan. It was perfect.”

Trained by Michael McCarthy for owners Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Gary Barber, Queen Goddess – sent off at odds of 4-1 — improved her record to six wins in 11 career starts. But it was her first race east of the Mississippi River in which she finished better than fifth.

Aron Wellman, president and founder of Eclipse Thoroughbreds, said the trip east was never a concern when the decision was made to send Queen Goddess to South Florida for the Pegasus.

“She’s matured,” Wellman said. “She’s a filly we always thought would get better with age. The two times we sent her east were a very ambitious run in the Queen Elizabeth (G1 at Keeneland) and a dirt try in the Bayakoa (G3 at Oaklawn Park). She wasn’t quite ready for it. Today we felt good about our chances.”

Queen Goddess entered Saturday’s stakes off a convincing 2 1/2-length victory in the Robert Frankel (G3) at Santa Anita on Dec. 31.

On Saturday, with Sweet Enough establishing the early lead, Queen Goddess and Saez were content to stalk in fourth before making a decisive move turning into the stretch and drawing off for the win. She completed the trip in 1:41.91 while 2-1 race favorite Wakanaka finished fifth after being blocked in the final turn.

Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., who was aboard Shantisara, said his mare broke slowly, forcing him to “drop in and wait” in the early stages.

“I could have made the first move outside, but I didn’t want to,” Ortiz said. “I followed some horses. The winner opened up on me, but my filly was closing.”

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