Be Your Best at Her Best in Pegasus Filly and Mare Turf

Given the way trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. has become a dominant force in South Florida racing, it seemed only a matter of time before he extended his winning touch to the Pegasus World Cup races.

That moment came Jan. 25 in the $490,880 Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf Invitational Stakes (G2T) at Gulfstream Park.

Sitting a perfect trip right behind the pacesetting stablemate In Our Time , Be Your Best  grabbed the lead midstretch and held off a late charge by Sacred Wish  to prevail by a neck in the Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf and give Joseph his initial victory in one of the three Pegasus stakes.

"This means a lot. It's our home track," said Joseph, who has won 11 straight training titles at Gulfstream Park and later on the card captured the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) with White Abarrio  for his second Pegasus win. "This is what racing is all about. It is very special for us."

Owned and bred by Michael J. Ryan, the 5-year-old Muhaarar  mare has blossomed since Ryan moved her to Joseph's barn last fall. Previously grade 1-placed, she was sixth in the Oct. 5 Rodeo Drive Stakes (G2T) at Santa Anita Park in her first start for Joseph.

Shipped back east, she won the Long Island Stakes (G3T) at Aqueduct Racetrack and then prepped for the 1 1/16-mile Pegasus by taking the Suwannee River Stakes (G3T) at Gulfstream.

"She's a very good (mare). She trained like a good one for this race and she ran that way," Joseph said. "I am so thankful to Mike for sending her to us."

Resolute Racing and Miller Racing's In Our Time, who drew in from the also-eligible list, shot out to the lead from post 10 in the field of 11 and led by a 1 1/2 lengths though quick fractions of :22.88 and :46.81 with Be Your Best a clear second.

The speedsters pulled away from the field on the final turn and in the final furlong, jockey Edgard Zayas and Be Your Best began to edge away before a challenge from the back of the pack finally emerged.

Fifth after six furlongs, grade 1 winner Sacred Wish , the 7-2 second choice from trainer George Weaver, was floated eight wide at the top of the stretch but nevertheless managed to generate a strong, sustained stretch rally. The daughter of Not This Time   quickly cut into Be Your Best's lead but fell a neck short at the wire.

Be Your Best covered the 1 1/16 miles in 1:39.06 over firm turf and paid $16.80.

The victory was the fifth in 18 starts and third in a row for Be Your Best, who earned $273,600 Saturday to lift her career total to $900,309.

Bred by Ryan's St. Croix Bloodstock, she is out of the Medaglia d'Oro   mare Kamakura.

Sacred Wish, owned by Black Type Thoroughbreds, Swinbank Stables, Steve Adkisson, Christopher Dunn, and Anthony Spinazzola, was second by 1 1/2 lengths over In Our Time, another daughter of Not This Time. Not This Time stands at Taylor Made Stallions, near Nicholasville, Ky., for a fee of $175,000 in 2025.

"She ran very well," Weaver said about Sacred Wish. "Just second best today."

Raqiya , the 2-1 favorite, was fifth.