Bricks and Mortar Surges Late to Take Pegasus Turf

In his second start off a 15-month layoff, Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence's Bricks and Mortar put in the top effort of his career to win the $7 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes (G1T) Jan. 26 at Gulfstream Park.

With a fast pace set by Fahan Mura in front of him, and even though an early move by Catapult in the backstretch made things a bit uncomfortable for a moment, Bricks and Mortar was on the move in the second turn of the 1 3/16-mile grass race and surged wide in the stretch to win by 2 1/2 lengths in a final time of 1:54.59 under Irad Ortiz Jr. over turf labeled yielding.

Ortiz was patient and confident throughout, and Bricks and Mortar settled into fifth entering the first turn. Fahan Mura set a pace of :22.94 and :47.93 through a half-mile, and Bricks and Mortar continued to lose position as others went by to make their moves, but Ortiz never flinched. Seventh entering the final bend, he still hadn't asked his mount midway through the turn, but the lightly raced 5-year-old was moving up on his own. At the top of the lane, Bricks and Mortar moved into third, then quickly got on even terms with leaders Catapult and Delta Prince and blew by on the outside.

"I got a perfect trip," Ortiz said. "My horse put me in a good position and just held it together, saving ground. When I got … him out, he exploded."

Group 2 winner Magic Wand just got up for second, a neck ahead of Delta Prince, who was followed by Catapult. Channel Maker, Yoshida, Next Shares, Dubby Dubbie, Aerolithe, and Fahan Mura completed the order of finish.

Trained by Chad Brown, Bricks and Mortar (a son of Giant's Causeway) won his first graded event at Saratoga Race Course in the 2017 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes (G2T). He placed in two other graded stakes that year before injuries sent him to the sideline. He did not race again until Dec. 22, 2018, when he took an optional-claiming allowance by a half-length on the Gulfstream turf.

"For a little while there, I didn't think I'd have a horse for the race," Brown said. "I had been resting a lot of them. Bricks and Mortar came in fresh when I was resting other ones. Thanks to (owners) Seth (Klarman) and Bill (Lawrence). They were game enough to put up a big entry fee and give it a shot. The horse just performed beautifully.

"Ian Brennan at Stonestreet Farm did a terrific job rehabbing this horse. Dr. Larry Bramlage worked on this horse about 16 months ago, when it looked like he might have a career-ending injury. He fixed him. There was a lot of teamwork—a lot of patience. When you go into a race this big (and) take a big gamble—it paid off today."

"It's not even just about the money," Lawrence said. "It's just a big race. It's a big, tough race. And the way this horse just really ran big today, to come back after two injuries that we had, it's electric.

"I think anybody that puts money in this sport, we all know we're probably one-third stupid, one-third optimistic and one-third crazy, and the rest of it, maybe there's one percent we're good dreamers and hopeful. We're very much optimists, for sure."

Bred in Kentucky by George Strawbridge Jr. out of the Ocean Crest mare Beyond the Waves, Bricks and Mortar pushed his lifetime earnings past the $3 million mark with the nearly $2.7 million winner's share. He has six wins from eight starts, and his two losses were third-place efforts in graded stakes company. In each, he was beaten by less than a length.