HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – At his best, National Treasure had some really memorable moments in 2023, defeating Kentucky Derby winner Mage when capturing the Preakness in game fashion during the spring before saving his best for last, extending likely Horse of the Year Cody’s Wish right to the wire before dropping a heartbreaking nose decision in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile.
But with three disappointing off-the-board finishes sandwiched between those two stellar performances, handicappers have a right to wonder which National Treasure will show up as the probable favorite in Saturday’s $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational, the main event and finale on a 13-race program at Gulfstream Park that also includes the $1 million Pegasus Turf Invitational and the $500,000 Pegasus Filly and Mare Turf.
Post time for the outstanding card, which features four other graded stakes and 10 full fields of a dozen starters, is 11 a.m. NBC will show the Pegasus Turf and Pegasus World Cup live on a 90-minute broadcast beginning at 4:30 p.m.
National Treasure will attempt to give trainer Bob Baffert his third victory in the eight-year history of the Pegasus World Cup. Baffert won the inaugural running of the event in 2017 with the odds-on future Hall of Famer Arrogate and returned to do it again three years later with Mucho Gusto.
“I’m lucky to have a horse of this caliber in a race of this caliber,” Baffert said. “I’ve had a lot of luck shipping to Gulfstream over the years. Arrogate, well he was something else. And Mucho Gusto, he was a solid horse and ran a great race there.”
National Treasure is well drawn, in post 7, for his 2024 debut and speed is his major asset. He led at every call in the Preakness. In the BC Dirt Mile, he was in front until late stretch and then dug in gamely when passed by Cody’s Wish before dropping a heartbreaking decision while earning a career-best 107 Beyer Speed Figure.
“We’ve taken our time and let him mature on his own, and I think he should only get better as a 4-year-old,” Baffert said. “I like our post, but they still have to break and you need a little luck going into that first turn down there. But he’s coming into the race in great shape. I’m really happy with the way he’s been training. And I think this is a perfect spot for him to get the year started.”
Flavien Prat, who rode National Treasure for the first time in the Breeders’ Cup, has the return call Saturday.
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First Mission, like National Treasure, also is coming off a frustrating defeat but arguably his best performance yet. In his 3-year-old finale he was beaten a nose by Trademark after contesting all the pace in the Grade 2 Clark on Nov. 24 at Churchill Downs. He will break adjacent to National Treasure, from post 8 under Luis Saez, in the Pegasus World Cup.
“He didn’t get any relief, he was pressed hard the whole way,” trainer Brad Cox said looking back on the Clark. “But I thought he responded well for a horse making only the fifth start of his career late in his 3-year-old season. He got beat a nose, galloped out well, did everything right but win the race. Naturally, we were disappointed we didn’t win, but that was all right because that race was just a stepping-stone towards this one.”
Cox, who sent out Knicks Go to capture the 2021 Pegasus and finish second behind Life Is Good the following year, also is extremely happy with the way his horse has trained up to the race.
“He’s always very steady in the mornings, he never needs company to breeze, always has solid gallop-outs,” Cox acknowledged. “He seems all set up for a big run on Saturday.”
The post-position draw was a win-lose proposition for Gulfstream Park’s leading trainer, Saffie Joseph Jr., whose O’Connor will break from post 2 and Skippylongstocking from the dreaded 12 post, compromising his chances severely with such a short run to the first turn in races decided at 1 1/8 miles on the dirt at Gulfstream. Two of the 24 horses who have started from that position have won at the distance since the track was reconfigured 16 years ago, but one of those was the great Big Brown in the 2008 Florida Derby. Last year, it was O’Connor who drew post 12 and subsequently finished 11th, beaten nearly 21 lengths, in the Pegasus World Cup.
Both of Joseph’s horses enter the Pegasus in top form. Skippylongstocking comes off an easy win in the Charles Town Classic and a third-place effort behind National Treasure in the BC Dirt Mile. O’Connor comes off back-to-back, hard-fought graded stakes victories in the Fayette at Keeneland and Harlan’s Holiday in his 2023 finale here Dec. 30.
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“Both horses are doing really well right now,” Joseph said. “O’Connor is probably as good as he’s ever been. He’s drawn well and trained well. A good pace is going to help him. He’s all stamina. Position is going to be important for him. Skippy is definitely at a disadvantage from out there going in, but hopefully if he breaks well and things unfold the right way, it could wind up being a good post.”
Other key contenders in the Pegasus include the rail-drawn Nimitz Class, making his first start since purchased privately and turned over to trainer George Weaver following his third-place finish in the Michael P. Ballezzi Mile on Oct. 17 at Parx Racing; Hoist the Gold, who projects as the likely pacesetter coming off his gate-to-wire, 4 1/2-length win in the Grade 2 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct; Trademark, exiting his game and hard-fought upset victory over First Mission in the Clark; and the late-running Grade 2 winner Senor Buscador, coming off his second-place finish over a speed-favoring track in the Cigar Mile.
The field also includes the Todd Pletcher-trained trio of Harlan’s Holiday runner-up Grand Aspen, steadily improving Crupi, and Grade 2 winner Dynamic One along with Grade 1-placed Il Miracolo.
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