Freshening, Smooth Trip Pay Off For Zulu Alpha

Being a stone-cold closer, Zulu Alpha has run into his share of bad trips.

"He's been unlucky in a few races," trainer Mike Maker said. 

One of those trips came last year in the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T) when the son of Street Cry had to rally six wide from last in the field of 12 and still managed to finish fourth, just 1 3/4 lengths behind the victorious future Horse of the Year Bricks and Mortar.

But Zulu Alpha was given some time off by Maker, and the gelding's training and luck changed, which spelled out to a two-length victory for owner Michael Hui's 7-year-old over the game European mare Magic Wand Jan. 25 in the $982,300 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes Presented by Runhappy (G1T) at Gulfstream Park.

"We turned him out for about three weeks and he came back thrived after that. He really tipped his hand all along," Maker said Jan. 26 while reporting that Zulu Alpha and his other Pegasus Turf starter, Bloom Racing Stable's Henley's Joy (seventh), both returned from the 1 3/16-mile stakes in fine shape. "He's very deserving. He's been unlucky in a few races, but he's a good horse with a great owner."

Unlike the Turf, Zulu Alpha was able to maintain his position along the inside throughout the race under jockey Tyler Gaffalione and then rallied strongly inside of Magic Wand to grab the lead leaving the eighth pole and draw clear in his first start in nearly three months.

"I was worried about the rail going in. He's such a big horse, you don't want him to get stopped. This time it worked out," Maker said.

Or, as Hui said about his 11-1 shot after the race, "The sea parted. 'Zulu' does what 'Zulu' does in the stretch. He finishes very strong, and we have a winner."

Trainer John Alexander Ortiz claimed Zulu Alpha for Hui for $80,500 out of a Sept. 14, 2018, race at Churchill Downs. After a win in the Sycamore Stakes (G3T), the gelding landed in Maker's barn, where he has posted four wins, all in graded stakes, in 11 starts.

Zulu Alpha has 10 wins from 31 starts and earnings of $1,902,674.

Maker said he was uncertain where Zulu Alpha would start next but indicated it would most likely be at Gulfstream, where the gelding has won three of four starts.

Unlike Zulu Alpha, another closer had a much more difficult race. Woodslane Farm's Sadler's Joy was bumped at the start—falling back to last—and then lost some momentum while rallying widest of all in the stretch and wound up sixth.

"He ran well. It's tough to give up all that ground," trainer Tom Albertrani said about the grade 1-winning 7-year-old son of Kitten's Joy . "He'll normally be back there, but you don't want to be farther back than you should. Getting the right trip, like the winner did, is the whole key. He seemed to come out of the race, and we'll see what we do next."

Grade 1 winner Arklow also had a troubled trip while finishing fifth as the 9-1 fourth choice. "He had a little bit of a rough run into the first turn," trainer Brad Cox said. "He lost some position, but overall it was a good effort. With the short stretch here, you need a good trip, and he didn't have the best of trips. Still, I was proud of the effort."

Cox said he was uncertain of what's next for the 6-year-old son of Arch owned by Donegal Racing, Joseph Bulger, and Peter Coneway.

"He came back fine and will ship back to (Fair Grounds) today," Cox said. "I'm not sure of where he'll land next, though some races don't sound as good today."

Eclipse Award finalist Mo Forza's four-start win streak came to an end. A slow start and a wide trip—he broke from post 10—led to a ninth-place finish as the 9-2 third choice.

"He had a horrible trip. It was very unfortunate, but he appeared to come out of it well," trainer Peter Miller said. "Against those horses, you can't break slow and be 10-15 wide on both turns. It's impossible to win that way, but you move on. He's already on his way home. We'll lick our wounds and regroup before we decide what's next."

Owned by Bardy Farm and OG Boss, the 4-year-old son of Uncle Mo  was coming off 2019 victories against 3-year-olds in the Mathis Brothers Mile Stakes (G2T) and Hollywood Derby (G1T).