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(Mystik Dan / Photos by Holly M. Smith)
From the Gulfstream Park Media Team:
Video Link for Mystik Dan Work
Video: Power Squeeze, Lone Filly in Field, Works
Saudi Crown, Fluffy Sox Work at Payson
HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Mystik Dan continued his preparation for the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) by breezing five furlongs in :59.48 Saturday morning at Gulfstream Park.
“We wanted a nice, solid breeze out of him so he got something out of it,” said trainer Ken McPeek. “It was a good next step. We’ll go over him this afternoon and this morning to make sure he’s OK. One more work next week, either Friday or Saturday, I haven’t decided, and then we’ll make a decision whether we’re going to go or not.”
Video: Click here to view
Second in the Preakness (G1) and eighth in the Belmont (G1), Mystik Dan was off for six months before finishing sixth Dec. 26 in the Malibu (G1). McPeek said the 4-year-old son of Goldencents seems to like his surroundings and the track.
“One of the questions coming out of the Belmont…[jockey] Brian Hernandez felt like he didn’t like the sort of deepness of the Saratoga track last summer, and I think this track is more of a skip-along type of racetrack he’ll get over well,” he said. “But he’ll have to do it in the afternoon.”
McPeek said he “just wants to make sure he has what I call a happy week and stays in the feed tub and shows good energy. He’s done well. Lovely horse. Really grand to be around.”
Entries for Pegasus World Cup Day will be taken Sunday, Jan. 26. The post-position draw, along with the odds, will take place in the Carousel Club at Gulfstream Park.
Power Squeeze, Lone Filly in Field, Works
Lea Farms LLC’s Power Squeeze, the only filly expected to run in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup, was also on the Gulfstream track Saturday morning, working five furlongs in 1:01.66.
Video: Click here to view
Winner of the Alabama (G1) at Saratoga over the summer, Power Squeeze comes into the Pegasus off a second-place finish here Dec. 26 in the Rampart. The 4-year-old daughter of Union Rags has two wins and a second over the Gulfstream track.
“She went very nice,” said trainer Jorge Delgado. “She breezed really strong and the gallop out was what we expected. She did it really easy. She goes [the Pegasus 1 1/8 mile] distance really well. The last race there was a slow pace in the race and the small field didn’t help her, but it sets her up for this race.
“She loves the distance, she loves the surface, she knows how to win. If there’s a good pace she’ll run a good race.”
Other possible Pegasus runners working Saturday at Payson Park included Grade 1 winner Saudi Crown, an invitee to the Pegasus World Cup, who worked four furlongs in :50, and Fluffy Sox, a favorite in the Filly & Mare Turf (G2), who worked a half mile in :49.40.
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