Seeking the Soul, Audible, Gunnevera Work for Pegasus

Grade 1 winner Seeking the Soul worked five furlongs Jan. 12 in 1:00 flat shortly after the Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots track opened in preparation for the $9 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) at Gulfstream Park Jan. 26. Charles Fipke's 6-year-old homebred powered the half-mile in :47 4/5, according to the official clockers on a busy workout morning.

"Just a strong, basic work for him," trainer Dallas Stewart said. "That's him. He's doing great."

Seeking the Soul worked the same distance in :59 3/5 Jan. 5 and went six furlongs in 1:11 Dec. 29 in preparation for America's richest race. Stewart said the horse will have one more workout Jan. 19 in New Orleans before flying to South Florida Jan. 22. Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez has the mount.

Seeking the Soul, fifth in last year's Pegasus, comes into the 1 1/8-mile stakes off a third-place finish in the Clark Handicap presented by Norton Healthcare (G1) Nov. 23 at Churchill Downs—a stakes he captured in 2017. He finished second Nov. 3 behind Pegasus contender City of Light  in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) at Churchill.

"If he gets a good position and it's his day, he's very competitive," Fipke said. "He's an outstanding horse, and he deserves to take another shot. The last Pegasus, unfortunately, he got a bone chip that Dr. (Robert) Hunt said probably affected his race, so he only came in fifth. It took a long time for him to recover. But he won a grade 3 at Churchill, and we're hoping for a big performance."

Off almost six months, Seeking the Soul was second by a head in the July 14 Michael G. Schaefer Memorial Stakes at Indiana Grand, followed by a 13th-place finish in the Sept. 1 Woodward Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1) at Saratoga Race Course. He rebounded to take Churchill's Ack Ack Stakes (G3) Sept. 29 under jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. as the springboard to the Breeders' Cup.

Also on the work tab Saturday was 2018 Xpressbet Florida Derby (G1) winner Audible. The Todd Pletcher trainee breezed five furlongs in 1:00.91 Saturday morning at Palm Beach Downs in preparation for the Pegasus World Cup. 

"Audible's training really well. I've been pleased with all of his works, particularly this morning. It was a good, solid five-eighths with a strong gallop-out that we were looking for," Pletcher said. "All indications are he's in good form and coming up to the race very well."

Audible worked in company inside Impact Player before drawing clear in the stretch and galloping out well ahead of his workmate.

Owned by China Horse Club, WinStar Farm, Head of Plains Partners, and Starlight Racing, Audible followed his Florida Derby triumph with a troubled third-place finish in the May 5 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) at Churchill before going to the sideline for six months. The son of Into Mischief  fired fresh to win the seven-furlong Cherokee Run Stakes on the Breeders' Cup undercard at Churchill Nov. 3 but faltered in his most recent start, finishing second in the 1 1/16-mile Harlan's Holiday Stakes (G3) Dec. 15 over a sloppy Gulfstream track.

"It wasn't what we were hoping for. We needed a race to build him up for the Pegasus. It didn't go as planned. He was a prohibitive favorite," Pletcher said. "Unfortunately, before the race, the skies opened and we got a downpour into a harrowed track. They tried to seal it after that, but it was too late. I think, more than anything, he didn't like the condition of the track. He didn't fire his best shot. He came out of it well and has trained better than ever coming into the Pegasus. It served its purpose in terms of conditioning."

Pletcher noted the 1 1/8-mile Pegasus will be Audible's third start off a layoff, widely viewed as a positive from handicapping and conditioning perspectives.

"We eased back into it after the Harlan's Holiday. We've put some good, solid five-eighths into him, and I've been particularly pleased with the way he's galloped out. This will be his third start off the layoff," Pletcher said.

"I think a mile and an eighth is ideal for him, especially if there's a good, contested pace. That's important for him. He likes to settle early," Pletcher added. "Some of the main contenders have a lot of speed. If they mix it up a little bit, I think he'll benefit from that."

Margoth's Gunnevera continues to please trainer Antonio Sano with his preparation for the Pegasus World Cup. The 5-year-old son of Dialed In  breezed six furlongs in 1:15 4/5 under Irad Ortiz Jr. Saturday morning at Gulfstream Park West.

"I feel very happy with him," said Sano, whose trainee finished third in last year's Pegasus. "He's a different horse. He's a stronger horse."

Gunnevera, who concluded his 2018 campaign with a runner-up finish behind Pegasus contender Accelerate  in the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), worked in company with stablemate Cometin.

"He worked really good. He's doing everything right. Hopefully, he comes back to racing the way he is right now," said Ortiz, who has the return mount on Gunnevera.

Gunnevera, who has more than $4.1 million in earnings, captured the 2017 Xpressbet Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) at Gulfstream. He also won the 2016 Saratoga Special Stakes (G2) and the $1 million Delta Downs Jackpot Stakes (G3).