Last year’s Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Knicks Go is the early favorite at 5-2 for the $3 million Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park on Saturday, Jan. 23 (NBC, 4:30-6 p.m. ET). He is trained by Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer finalist Brad Cox and will be ridden by Joel Rosario, a finalist for the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey.
The 2019 Travers Stakes winner Code of Honor, who was most recently second in the Clark Stakes (G1), is on Knicks Go’s heels at 9-2. Danny Gargan’sTax comes in at 5-1 after finishing 9th in the 2020 Pegasus World Cup. Trainer Dale Romans fields two horses in the dirt race: the 15-1 Coastal Defense and 30-1 longshot Mr Freeze, who finished second in last year’s edition.
Jan 22, 2020 RELATED: Pegasus World Cup Turf entries and odds NBC will broadcast the Pegasus World Cup won in the past by Arrogate (2017), Gun Runner (2018) and City of Light (2019). Here’s a look at the field with morning line odds, trainers and jockey assignments. Jacamar (GER) 6 Pegasus Bloodstock Limited Milton Harris. Janika (FR) 8 Mr Simon Munir & Mr Isaac Souede Nicky Henderson. Whatswrongwithyou (IRE) 10 Turf Club 2020 Nicky Henderson.
Todd Pletcher’s Colonel Liam (7-2) leads the turf field. This will be his first graded stakes race after making his first start less than a year ago. Irad Ortiz Jr., another Eclipse finalist, has the ride.
Neither of last year’s winners (Mucho Gusto on the dirt and Zulu Alpha on the turf) will make a run at a title defense, with Mucho Gusto retired and Zulu Alpha out with an ongoing ankle injury.
The Pegasus World Cup runs 1 1/8 miles on the dirt, and the Pegasus World Cup Turf runs 1 3/16 miles on the turf.
Since 2020, the two races run entirely medication free, including Lasix, a commonly used anti-bleeding medication. This year, the winner of the Pegasus World Cup will receive automatic entry into the $20 million Saudi Cup. Both races are for horses aged 4 years and older and are invitation-only.
Related:How to watch 2021 Pegasus World Cup
$3 million Pegasus World Cup post positions and odds:
- Sleepy Eyes Todd (8-1),
Trainer: Miguel Angel Silva
Jockey: Jose Ortiz - Coastal Defense (15-1)
Trainer: Dale Romans
Jockey: Corey Lanerie - Independence Hall (20-1)
Trainer: Mike McCarthy
Jockey: Flavien Prat - Knicks Go (5-2)
Trainer: Brad Cox
Jockey: Joel Rosario - Jesus’ Team (8-1)
Trainer: Jose Francisco D’Angelo
Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr. - Kiss Today Goodbye (10-1)
Trainer: Eric Kruljac
Jockey: Mike Smith - Tax (5-1)
Trainer: Danny Gargan
Jockey: Luis Saez - Harpers First Ride (10-1)
Trainer: Claudio Gonzalez
Jockey: Angel Cruz - Last Judgment (20-1)
Trainer: Mike Maker
Jockey: Paco Lopez - Code of Honor (9-2)
Trainer: Shug McGaughey
Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione - Mr Freeze (30-1)
Trainer: Dale Romans
Jockey: John Velazquez - Math Wizard (20-1)
Trainer: Saffie Joseph Jr.
Jockey: Edgard Zayas
$1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf post positions and odds:
- Next Shares (20-1)
Trainer: Richard Baltas
Jockey: Drayden Van Dyke - Breaking the Rules (10-1)
Trainer: Shug McGaughey
Jockey: John Velazquez - Storm the Court (12-1)
Trainer: Peter Eurton
Jockey: Julien Leparoux - North Dakota (10-1)
Trainer: Shug McGaughey
Jockey: Jose Ortiz - Colonel Liam (7-2)
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr. - Largent (9-2)
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Jockey: Paco Lopez - Aquaphobia (20-1)
Trainer: Mike Maker
Jockey: Joe Bravo - Anothertwistafate (5-1)
Trainer: Peter Miller
Jockey: Joel Rosario - Cross Border (15-1)
Trainer: Mike Maker
Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione - Pixelate (15-1)
Trainer: Michael Stidham
Jockey: Edgard Zayas - Say the Word (6-1)
Trainer: Philip D’Amato
Jockey: Flavien Prat - Social Paranoia (8-1)
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Jockey: Luis Saez
Watch the 2021 Pegasus World Cup on Saturday, Jan. 23 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. ET on NBC, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.
A full field of 12 has lined up for Gulfstream Park’s Grade 1, $3 million Pegasus World Cup, which will serve as heavy favorite Omaha Beach’s career finale before heading off to stud in Kentucky.
Post positions were drawn Wednesday for the Saturday event, which runs under different conditions than past renewals. Connections no longer stake a six-figure entry fee — hence the smaller purse — and contenders will run free of race day medication, including Lasix.
RELATED: Pegasus World Cup Turf entries and odds
NBC will broadcast the Pegasus World Cup won in the past by Arrogate (2017), Gun Runner (2018) and City of Light (2019). Here’s a look at the field with morning line odds, trainers and jockey assignments.
1. True Timber, 20-1 (Kiaran McLaughlin/Joe Bravo): Third in three straight graded races in New York, he’s seeking a first stakes win and doesn’t figure to get it here. True Timber ran evenly to be seventh in last year’s Pegasus. A similar effort seems likely Saturday.
2. Tax, 12-1 (Danny Gargan/Jose Ortiz): This gelding ran a sneaky-good second in Aqueduct’s Discovery Stakes (G3) on Nov. 30 to position him for the Pegasus. He beat some of the best in his class in the Jim Dandy (G2) last summer and seems to almost always hang around for a piece.
3. Diamond Oops, 20-1 (Patrick Biancone/Julien Leparoux): No doubt this gelding loves Gulfstream Park with a 5-for-6 record locally, but what about the distance? We don’t have a true gauge, as Diamond Oops stumbled at the break of his prior two-turn dirt try in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile.
4. Seeking the Soul, 30-1 (Dallas Stewart/John Velazquez): He won one of eight starts in 2019, that being the Stephen Foster (G2) over his favorite track at Churchill Downs. The form that got him a second in this race a year ago may be in the rearview mirror for the 7-year-old, who’s looked a step slower lately.
5. Omaha Beach, 7-5 (Richard Mandella/Mike Smith): The heavy favorite here has had just one hiccup on his way to the Pegasus, that being a foot bruise that shifted his work schedule but now seems behind the newly turned 4-year-old. Here, he’ll have to stretch back to 1 1/8 miles for the first time since April.
6. Higher Power, 6-1 (John Sadler/Flavien Prat): Since breaking out for new connections in the Pacific Classic (G1), he earned a pair of thirds in Grade 1 company out west, but only after stumbling at the start in the Awesome Again and breaking slow in the Breeders' Cup Classic. If Higher Power can get away cleanly and repeat that Del Mar effort, he holds an upset chance.
7. War Story, 30-1 (Elizabeth Dobles/Joel Rosario): Just when you think this guy’s done, he delivers a winning performance in the Harlan’s Holiday (G3) and is on to the Pegasus — for a third time — in a new barn. The 8-year-old no longer looks like a plodder, but rather a mid-pack runner who could get an earlier run on to the board.
8. Mr Freeze, 30-1 (Dale Romans/Luis Saez): The dominant winner of the 2018 West Virginia Derby (G3) hasn’t duplicated that effort, but there have been flickers, namely a victory in the 2019 Ack Ack (G3) at Churchill Downs. The thinking here is we haven’t seen his best lately. But can Mr Freeze get back to it?
9. Spun to Run, 7-2 (Jose Guerrero/Javier Castellano): The Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner upset Omaha Beach that day, leading gate to wire under Irad Ortiz Jr., who hopped off to ride a Pegasus rival. Since then, Spun to Run chased Maximum Security in a respectable Cigar Mile (G1) runner-up effort.
10. Mucho Gusto, 9-2 (Bob Baffert/Irad Ortiz Jr.): He tailed off when fourth in the Oklahoma Derby (G3) last September but earned a pair of Grade 1 placings previously in the Haskell (G1) and Travers (G1). Better with maturity, Mucho Gusto learned to relax near the pace later in the season. Baffert usually brings them ready to run off the layoff.
11. Tenfold, 30-1 (Steve Asmussen/Tyler Gaffalione): This horse jumps up once in a while to deliver big efforts, such as his wins in the 2018 Jim Dandy (G2) and 2019 Pimlico Special (G3). But we’re past eight months since he’s hit the board. Works haven’t been especially sharp for this spot, either.
Pegasus Entries 2018
12. Bodexpress, 30-1 (Gustavo Delgado/Emisael Jaramillo): Despite moving through conditions with two post-Preakness Stakes victories, antics at the gate may have cost him again in the local Pegasus prep, the Harlan’s Holiday (G3). Surely, though, we haven’t seen his best, if at least he can get the mental side of the game down. He has speed, and he'll need it on a short run to the first turn.
Analysis: It’s tough to win big while playing with the general public, but is there really a scenario where Omaha Beach shouldn’t be keyed up and down your tickets?
You may have to find a way to cash using him with a pair I figure will go overlooked, Higher Power and Tax. Both enter with high ceilings and plenty of time between starts.
Pegasus Turf Entries 2020
Meanwhile, Spun to Run hasn’t stopped in nearly a year — we’ve likely already seen his best — while Mucho Gusto, who also figures to take money, has a bigger prize in mind in the Feb. 29 Saudi Cup.
Mr Freeze deserves attention at a price, as other recent results have flattered him. He may not be an exacta player, but if you’re playing the trifecta and superfecta, think of him to round out those wagers.
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