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(Mystik Dan / Photo by Holly M. Smith)
From the Gulfstream Park Media Team:
Ten Millionaires on List of 20 Including 2024 Runner-Up Senor Buscador
HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Mystik Dan and fellow Grade 1-winning millionaires Saudi Crown, Senor Buscador, Stronghold and White Abarrio are among 12 horses and eight reserves on the initial list of invitations to the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) Jan. 25 at Gulfstream Park.
The 1 1/8-mile Pegasus for 4-year-olds and up is the headliner on a blockbuster program featuring 10 stakes, seven graded, worth $5.55 million including the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1) and $500,000 Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G2).
4G Racing, Valley View Farm, Lance Gasaway and Daniel Hamby III’s Mystik Dan won the Southwest (G3) on the road to the 2024 Triple Crown, opening the series with a determined nose victory in the Kentucky Derby at odds of 18-1. Second as the favorite in the Preakness (G1) two weeks later, he returned to be eighth in the Belmont (G1) and did not race again until running sixth in the seven-furlong Malibu (G1) Dec. 26 at Santa Anita.
Trainer Ken McPeek also trains invitee Rattle N Roll. Lucky Seven Stable’s Rattle N Roll won the 2021 Breeders’ Futurity (G1) and four graded-stakes in 2023 including the historic Pimlico Special (G3). The 5-year-old raced only twice in 2024, finishing tird in the Lukas Classic (G2) off a year layoff and winning the 1 1/8-mile Clark (G2) Nov. 29.
Joe Peacock Jr. homebred Senor Buscador is the richest of the Pegasus invitees with more than $12.9 million in purse earnings from 23 starts, highlighted by a head victory in the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1) last February. The win came after the 6-year-old rallied to be second by a neck behind National Treasure in the Pegasus.
FMQ Stables’ Saudi Crown won the Pennsylvania Derby (G1) in 2023 after being beaten a nose in the Dwyer (G3) and Jim Dandy (G2). Third to Senor Buscador in the Saudi Cup, he won the Louisiana (G3) to open 2024 and most recently rebounded from a 13th in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) to capture the 1 1/16-mile Tenacious Dec. 21 at Fair Grounds.
C2 Racing Stable, Prince Faisal bin Khaled bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud and Antonio Pagnano’s White Abarrio won the 2022 Florida Derby (G1) at Gulfstream and 2023 Whitney (G1) at Saratoga, both going 1 1/8 miles, and 1 ¼-mile Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) in 2023. Eighth in the 2023 Pegasus, he has raced twice since returning to trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., both sprinting seven furlongs, winning Nov. 22 allowance by 10 ¼ lengths and rallying from far back to be second in the Dec. 28 Mr. Prospector (G3).
Joseph is also represented by Daniel Alonso’s $3.09 million earner Skippylongstocking, who is aiming for his third straight Pegasus World Cup after running seventh in 2023 and being pulled up after six furlongs in 2024. He rebounded from that to win the Challenger (G3), Oaklawn Handicap (G2) and Charles Town Classic (G2) and owns three wins at Gulfstream including the 2022 Harlan’s Holiday (G3).
Eric Waller and Sharon Waller’s Stronghold, by Hall of Famer Ghostzapper, exits consecutive runner-up finishes in the Indiana Derby (G3), Pennsylvania Derby and Malibu (G1), the latter Dec. 26 at Santa Anita, for trainer Phil D’Amato. He ran seventh to Mystik Dan in the Kentucky Derby, earning his way there with a neck triumph in the 1 1/8-mile Santa Anita Derby (G1).
Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, seeking his second Pegasus World Cup victory following Life Is Good in 2022, is represented by invitees Crupi and Locked. Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable’s Crupi ran third in 2024, beaten 4 ½ lengths at odds of 34-1, and has banked nearly $1.7 million lifetime with his lone graded win coming in the 2024 Suburban (G2).
Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Walmac Farm’s Locked, on the verge of millionaire status, has raced just six times with four wins including the 2023 Breeders’ Futurity (G1) and a last-out triumph in the Cigar Mile (G2) Dec. 7 at Aqueduct. It was the second straight win in one of only two 2024 starts following a third-place finish to champion stablemate Fierceness in the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1).
Calumet Farm’s Mixto earned his Grade 1 credentials winning the 1 ¼-mile Pacific Classic Aug. 31 at Del Mar at odds of 22-1. Eleventh in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), he returned to be third by a length in the 1 1/8-mile Native Diver (G3) Nov. 23 at Del Mar, his most recent start.
No trainer has more Pegasus wins than Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, who had success with National Treasure (2024), Mucho Gusto (2020) and Arrogate (2017), who set a track record of 1:46.83 in the inaugural edition. This year’s candidate is SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Dianne Bashor, Robert Masterson, Waves Edge Capital, Catherine Donovan and Tom Ryan’s Imagination, beaten a neck as the favorite in the Santa Anita Derby (G1) after winning the San Felipe (G2). Most recently he ran third in the Malibu.
Rounding out the main invitation list is Purple Rein Racing’s J B Strikes Back, Mixto’s Doug O’Neill-trained stablemate that put together three consecutive wins to end 2024 capped by a 1 ¼-length triumph in the 1 1/16-mile Laffit Pincay Jr. (G2) Dec. 26 at Santa Anita, his first try at two turns.
Leading the list of alternates are millionaires Newgrange, unraced since a fifth in the July 27 San Diego Handicap (G2), and three-time graded-stakes winner Red Route One; 4-year-old filly Power Squeeze, winner of the 2024 Alabama (G1) at Saratoga; Rocket Can, whose four wins include the 2023 Holy Bull (G3) and Dec. 21 Harlan’s Holiday (G3) at Gulfstream; Native Diver winner Skinner; 2024 Gulfstream Park Mile (G2) winner Steal Sunshine; Tumbarumba, winner of the Fred Hooper (G3) on the Pegasus 2024 undercard; and Cooke Creek.
Gulfstream Nominations: Click here to view
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