Accelerate, City of Light Meet for Last Time in Pegasus

Say what you will about the overall quality of the fields for the first two editions of the Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1), but the early season event has never been lacking for a big horse—or two.

The first Pegasus in 2017 may not have lived up to its hype as the rematch between Arrogate  and California Chrome , but the star power was there. A year later Gun Runner  put on his last magnificent performance.

The third running Jan. 26 at Gulfstream Park also will not disappoint, as arguably the two best dirt horses in training—Accelerate  and City of Light —will have a rubber match in the 1 1/8-mile test, their last race before moving on to stallion duty at Lane's End.

Hronis Racing's Accelerate, the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) winner and finalist for Horse of the Year, would have had an unblemished 2018 season if not for Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) winner City of Light's effort April 14 in the 1 1/8-mile Oaklawn Handicap (G2), where he edged his rival by a neck. One start later Accelerate turned the tables May 26 with a dominating victory in the 1 1/4-mile Gold Cup at Santa Anita (G1) when City of Light finished 5 1/2 lengths behind in third. Mr. and Mrs. William K. Warren Jr.'s City of Light didn't win again until the Dirt Mile, but put in one of the most impressive performances of Breeders' Cup weekend.

"It's always fun to go against another really good horse," said Accelerate's trainer John Sadler. "I have a ton of respect for (City of Light). He's a really good horse, but I'm kinda glad we have another crack at him. I don't mind that a bit."

Kosta Hronis, who owns Accelerate in partnership with his brother Pete Hronis, has observed a very different chestnut in 2018. The son of Lookin At Lucky  showed flashes of brilliance in years prior, most notably his 8 1/2-length runaway victory in the 2017 TVG San Diego Handicap (G2) against heavily favored Arrogate, but couldn't string winning efforts together. That all changed in 2018, when he won five grade 1 races, including the "big three" in the Southern California handicap division—the Santa Anita Handicap Presented by San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino (G1), the Gold Cup, and the $1 Million TVG Pacific Classic (G1).

"It's been a great, thrilling ride, and we've enjoyed it the whole way through," Hronis said. "If you think about where he started at the beginning of the year, it's incredible. ... You could just see it with him—you can see the maturity in how he acts. He's just more professional and very focused."

For the Michael McCarthy-trained City of Light, the Oaklawn Handicap was first test of distance, and he passed against top competition. Whether the mile and an eighth suits him better than Accelerate, however, remains to be seen, and McCarthy has been somewhat dismissive of a potential advantage.

"He's rightfully in the running for Horse of the Year, so he handles a mile and an eighth fine," McCarthy said of Accelerate, who has run his best races at 10 furlongs.

The rest of the field doesn't carry the same heft as the two headliners, but features quality, some curiosities, and no shortage of storylines.

Undefeated Kukulkan, the Mexican-bred and Mexican-trained runner, is the main curiosity. The Point Determined colt raced exclusively at Hipódromo de las Américas in Mexico City and won the Triple Crown there before his debut on U.S. soil, a 10 1/4-length romp in the Clásico del Caribe at Gulfstream.

Audible is one of five grade 1 winners in the 12-horse field, but has done his best work at Gulfstream. The New York-bred Into Mischief  colt won the Holy Bull Stakes (G2) and Xpressbet Florida Derby (G1) before a third-place run in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) in 2018, but came in second as the heavy favorite last time out in Gulfstream's Harlan's Holiday Stakes (G3) Dec. 15. The other top-level winners are 2017 Clark Handicap presented by Norton Healthcare (G1) winner Seeking the Soul and last-out Cigar Mile Handicap Presented by NYRA Bets (G1) victor Patternrecognition.

Another entrant for the $9 million race that has shown an affinity for Gulftsream is last year's third-place finisher Gunnevera, the 2017 Xpressbet Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) winner who ran second to Accelerate last time out in the Breeders' Cup Classic.

Entries: Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. (G1)

Gulfstream Park, Saturday, January 26, 2019, Race 12

• Grade I
• 1 1/8m
• Dirt
• $9,000,000
• 3 yo's & up
• 5:36 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Bravazo (KY)	Luis Saez	124	D. Wayne Lukas	12/1
2	2Something Awesome (ON)	Edgar S. Prado	124	Jose Corrales	20/1
3	3City of Light (KY)	Javier Castellano	124	Michael W. McCarthy	5/2
4	4Seeking the Soul (KY)	John R. Velazquez	124	Dallas Stewart	12/1
5	5Accelerate (KY)	Joel Rosario	124	John W. Sadler	9/5
6	6Tom's d'Etat (KY)	Shaun Bridgmohan	124	Albert M. Stall, Jr.	20/1
7	7True Timber (KY)	Joe Bravo	124	Kiaran P. McLaughlin	30/1
8	8Gunnevera (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	124	Antonio Sano	8/1
9	9Kukulkan (MEX)	Lanfranco Dettori	124	Fausto Gutierrez	30/1
10	10Audible (NY)	Flavien Prat	124	Todd A. Pletcher	10/1
11	11Imperative (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	124	Anthony T. Quartarolo	30/1
12	12Patternrecognition (FL)	Jose L. Ortiz	124	Chad C. Brown	10/1

Reaction to post positions

Sadler (Accelerate, PP #5, 9-5): "It's a good post. We didn't want to be on the outside and we didn't want to be on the inside. We were hoping for 5 or 6, so we're very happy with the draw. He has a style that doesn't get in trouble, typically. Hopefully, he gets away good and gets a good trip from there." 

McCarthy (City of Light, PP #3, 5-2): "I'm very pleased to be drawn into the three-hole. It got down to the wire there with the three or the 12, so we were obviously very grateful to have the three-hole. He's a horse that carries his speed a long way, so hopefully we get a nice, clean break and find ourselves in a good position going into the first turn and turning up the backside."

"Very pleased with the way he's settled in. I was happy with the way he got over the racetrack Saturday morning. I thought his work was dynamite. He came out of it well and seems to be enjoying himself here. I don't know if a horse could have come into a race better than he did coming into the Breeders' Cup. Obviously, 10 or 11 weeks between races certainly seems to me like he is holding his form. Very pleased with what I've seen so far."

Trainer Antonio Sano (Gunnevera, PP #8, 8-1): "I like the post. He's not outside or inside. He's close to the middle, so it's good. The horse comes from the back, so we hope to have a good pace."

Elliott Walden, WinStar Farm (Audible, PP #10, 10-1): "It's not ideal, but it's not a killer, either. Gun Runner won out of it last year. I think it's fine. I didn't really want the 12 but, other than that, everything else seems to be OK. A little further out than we wanted, but there's some pluses to that, as well. You get a clean break and he's tactical, so we'll see where he puts himself and go from there."

Trainer D. Wayne Lukas (Bravazo, PP #1, 12-1): "We have to take care of the things we can control and that's something we can't control, so we just leave it alone. Here, I think with this field and everything, the way it shook out I don't think it's all that bad. It's a short run to the turn. We've got good gate speed. I don't know that it's that big a disadvantage. Normally, I wouldn't like it. I wouldn't like it in the Derby or the Preakness or a race like that, but it might not fit too badly here."

Trainer Jose Corrales (Something Awesome, PP #2, 20-1): "I think it's OK. You wish to be in the middle, but it's very difficult to get what you want. It's not the best position that you can get at that distance, but I go in with a rider (Edgar Prado) that's won all kinds of races. When you have a rider like him, he knows what to do. They have to break and they have enough time before the first turn to make a decision where he wants to be. He's a horse that you can put anywhere. I think he's going to perform well. I go in with a good feeling that they have to run to beat him, because he's going to compete. It's not easy, but if everything was easy everybody would win the Pegasus."

Owner Ron Paolucci (Imperative, PP #11, 30-1): "Most people wouldn't be happy with 11, but I was happy with 11. Imperative is not a horse that likes to be down inside or in between horses. Every race that he has ever run that is a big race, he's been outside of horses. I was worried with as much speed in the race if he drew inside they would come down on him with the quick run to the first turn. We got three horses that don't have a lot of speed directly inside of us and a fast horse on the outside of us. I think that will allow us to come out and set our own tempo and maybe lay fifth or sixth, right off the speed. We should get a clean trip from out there."