Arrogate, California Chrome Meet Again in Pegasus

In many ways the entries alone mark an early "mission accomplished" for the first edition of the $12 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) as the world's richest race set for Jan. 28 at Gulfstream Park has attracted the world's two top dirt horses in training in California Chrome   and Arrogate.

Both standout horses picked up hardware for their connections at the Eclipse Awards Jan. 21 as Arrogate was named champion 3-year-old male and California Chrome secured the Horse of the Year honor along with the champion older dirt male trophy. While the chestnut picked up the night's top honor based on a spectacular overall season, Arrogate scored a victory in the one race where the two met last year when he surged past California Chrome in deep stretch to win the $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) in November at Santa Anita Park.

The 2016 Breeders' Cup Classic was the most lucrative race ever conducted in North America, but the Pegasus will quickly rewrite the record book as North America's—and the world's—richest race, surpassing the $10 million Dubai World Cup sponsored by Emirates Airline (G1) in the latter category.

California Chrome, the 6-5 morning-line favorite in the Pegasus, will start from the outside in the field of 12 while Arrogate, the 7-5 second choice, will start from the rail.

"We can't make any excuses," California Chrome's trainer Art Sherman said of the outside draw. "The only good thing I thought about this is that he doesn't have to be in the starting gate long."

According to BRISnet.com stats, since the track was reconfigured in 2006 horses who have started from post 12 in 1 1/8-mile races are 1-for-18.

"Chrome is Chrome; he's got tactical speed," Sherman said. "I was hoping that we would get closer inside. He will overcome all this, believe me."

Campaigned by co-breeder Perry Martin and Taylor Made Farm, California Chrome won the 2016 Dubai World Cup, an effort that helped him become the top earner in North American racing history at $14.5 million. A victory Saturday in what is scheduled to be the final time Sherman sends out the two-time Horse of the Year would make the 6-year-old son of Lucky Pulpit   the world's top earner as he would surpass the $19,005,276 collected by Japan's 2011 Horse of the Year Orfevre.

Juddmonte Farms' Arrogate shattered records in his stakes debut when he won the Travers Stakes (G1) in track-record time of 1:59.36 for 1 1/4 miles to score a 13 1/2-length victory at Saratoga Race Course. After taking the summer's top 1 1/4-mile race for 3-year-olds, the son of Unbridled's Song improved to 2-for-2 at the distance when he won the Breeders' Cup Classic and gave his trainer, Bob Baffert, a third straight victory in the race following triumphs by Bayern   in 2014 (where California Chrome finished third) and American Pharoah   in 2015.

Baffert liked the way Arrogate looked in his final serious work before the Pegasus, when he completed six furlongs in 1:12.13 Jan. 21 on a sealed Santa Anita track listed as "wet-fast."

"He's getting stronger every week. I wanted to see what I saw today and he's ready for the big race," Baffert said after the move. "Now we have to ship and there's more hurdles, but I love the way he's training. This horse is so fit. He's ready for the challenge."

The Pegasus will see the two champions shorten up a furlong from their Breeders' Cup Classic efforts. California Chrome has won two of his four dirt starts at the 1 1/8-mile distance with victories in last year's Awesome Again Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita and a dominating performance there in the 2014 Santa Anita Derby (G1), which set him up for a pair of classic victories.

Arrogate will try the distance for the first time but the five-race win streak he'll carry into the Pegasus includes the two 10-furlong scores as well as three straight wins at 1 1/16 miles in maiden and allowance tests in Southern California.

Both Southern California-based horses will be starting at Gulfstream for the first time. California Chrome will be making his first start since closing 2016 with a 12-length waltz to victory in the Winter Challenge Stakes at Los Alamitos Race Course. Arrogate will be making his first start since Breeders' Cup as he was scratched from a planned start in the Jan. 1 San Pasqual Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita because of track conditions after rain fell in the days before that race.

Both Arrogate and California Chrome will figure prominently when the Longines World's Best Racehorse is announced Jan. 24. The Pegasus' landing racing's top two dirt horses in the world recalls the inaugural edition of the Dubai World Cup that attracted Cigar, who fueled a rousing debut to the race in 1996 when he extended his win streak to 14 under the lights at Nad al Sheba. 

To help fund the Pegasus purse, The Stronach Group devised a plan in which stakeholders have put up $1 million each for one of the race's 12 starting slots. That approach has helped ensure full entries in the inaugural Pegasus, despite the presence of Arrogate and California Chrome. 

"It's going to be a great race," said Frank Stronach at the draw. The race is scheduled to be aired during a 4:30 to 6 p.m. broadcast on NBC.

Baffert thanked the Stronach Group for putting the race together and bringing some added excitement to the racing calendar.

"I think it's thinking out of the box. It couldn't have come at a better year when you've got the No.1 and No. 2 horses hooked up together," Baffert said. "It's very rare that you'll get that type of a matchup. It's like a Breeders' Cup all over again.

"At this time of the year it's usually really quiet, usually we're just getting our horses ready for the spring and summer. I think everybody is going to be watching. The $12 million catches a lot of people's attention. This is Frank Stronach's dream and I'm proud of being part of it."

On paper, a horse will have to jump up quite a bit to compete with the top two. In the Breeders' Cup Classic, California Chrome finished 10 3/4 lengths ahead of third-place finisher Keen Ice, who will try to improve in the Pegasus.

Still, it is an accomplished field scheduled to fill the Gulfstream starting gate.

The Pegasus entries include six grade/group 1 winners in Arrogate, California Chrome, Eragon, Keen Ice, Noble Bird, and Shaman Ghost. That is just one less than the seven grade 1/group 1 winners going into last year's Dubai World Cup of California Chrome, Hoppertunity, Special Fighter, Frosted, Mshawish, Keen Ice, and Hokko Tarumae.

One horse who will not start is Clark Handicap (G1) winner Gun Runner, who had been considered for the race but was not entered after training under a quarantine at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, which on Jan. 22 lifted its quarantine for unaffected barns after an EHV-I outbreak. Gulfstream officials said Jan. 22 that Gun Runner had not completed the testing requirements to ship into the track. 

The Ruis Racing slot that Gun Runner had reached a deal for, is filled by Ruis Racing's War Envoy.

Keen Ice, the third morning-line choice at 12-1, already has pulled off one big upset as he rallied past Triple Crown winner American Pharoah to win the 2015 Travers Stakes.

Noble Bird certainly is capable of a huge effort as the 6-year-old son of Birdstone   won the 2015 Stephen Foster Handicap (G1) at Churchill Downs and set a track record at the Pegasus distance in taking last year's Hagyard Fayette Stakes (G2) at Keeneland.

A Canadian champion and classic winner in 2015 in Canada, Shaman Ghost registered a strong 4-year-old season last year with wins in the Brooklyn Invitational (G2) and Woodward (G1) stakes. 

Breaking Lucky secured a Canadian classic in 2015 and Eragon will try for the upset in his U.S. debut after winning three group 1 stakes in Argentina in 2015 and 2016.

Still the majority of focus will be on the Arrogate-California Chrome rematch; two talents that will leave little time for blinking.