Zipse: Omaha Beach and Gift Box may finally meet in Pegasus

Opening Day at Santa Anita featured the talents of two of the best dirt horses in the world, and neither Omaha Beach nor Gift Box disappointed.

Omaha Beach turned in a sublime performance in dominating his competition in the seven-furlong Malibu Stakes (G1), while a few races earlier Gift Box returned in the pink with a commanding front running score in the 1 1/16-miles San Antonio Stakes (G2).

Omaha Beach is a 3-year-old, and Gift Box is 6, so it makes sense that their racing careers have yet to converge. In fact, the two dirt stars share very little in common other than how well they ran on Saturday. 

Off these big wins on the last weekend of 2019, the question now becomes -- will they get the chance to face each other for the first and only time in one of America's richest races?

Whether or not Gift Box will ship east to run in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup (G1) on Jan. 25 at Gulfstream Park remains to be decided.

As for Omaha Beach, we do know the plan is for him to run in the Pegasus. But after that race, he will be shipped to Kentucky to begin stud duty at Spendthrift Farm.

With it seemingly all but decided that Maximum Security will bypass the Pegasus in favor of bigger riches in Saudi Arabia, a meeting between the Malibu winner and the San Antonio winner would be the best possible matchup we could hope for next month in South Florida.

It would be the only chance for the two to meet due to the impending retirement of Omaha Beach. The future career paths of the two is somewhat ironic in that Gift Box will be the one sticking around to look for his first Eclipse Award at the age of 7, while the impressive colt, three years his junior, is primed to begin his stallion career.

Either could be a champion next year if given the opportunity to run, that belief backed up by the performances on Santa Anita's opening day.

Omaha Beach received more of the fanfare, and he lived up to the hype. Trained by Richard Mandella and owned by Fox Hill Farms, the impressive bay son of War Front won for the fifth time in his last six starts, with only a second-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile interrupting his winning streak.

The Malibu may have been his most impressive start yet. In a race that lacked much depth or overall class, the colt, who had to be scratched out of the Kentucky Derby as the favorite, still managed to shine. Stalking the early pace in fourth, it always looked like his record setting rider Mike Smith only needed to tap the button to completely take over the race.

The victory was his third Grade 1 tally of the year, and at the third different distance, having already accounted for the nine-furlong Arkansas Derby (G1) and the six-furlong Santa Anita Sprint Championship (G1). The rich Pegasus will be a good spot for his swan song, but another year of racing could have been near limitless in what he could achieve.

Gift Box, meanwhile, was always well thought of but seemingly spun his wheels on the East Coast. Once fourth in the Travers (G1), the son of Twirling Candy finally put it all together when shipped to California and the barn of John Sadler.

Forced out of action multiple times in his career due to physical issues, he once again proved to be flourishing at his new home base. Returning from a six-month layoff in the San Antonio, he looked better than ever in winning the Grade 2 race for the second straight year.

An attempt to also repeat in the Santa Anita Handicap (G1) on March 7 looks to be a very likely goal for the veteran runner. It's a race in which he would likely to be tough to beat, considering a narrow defeat to this year's Breeders' Cup Classic winner Vino Rosso is all standing in the way of a perfect record for him at Santa Anita.

Before that, though, is the matter of the Pegasus, and a possible match-up with Omaha Beach. A decision on his participation should happen soon, but if the Hronis Racing gray can bring his best from Santa Anita to Gulfstream Park, he looms a serious threat to his younger rival.

If he does run, the Pegasus would bring together the two biggest stars from opening day at Santa Anita, and on the opposite coast. It would be one of the early highlights for American racing before the 2020 Kentucky Derby.