Across the Board: Davidowitz's Pegasus World Cup day picks

Usually, I’m a big fan of stakes races that carry high purses. However, on Saturday, at Gulfstream Park, that notion is being carried to the extreme, as some of the stakes at that South Florida track are so high they make little sense.

As I see both the $9 million Pegasus World Cup (G1) on dirt and the $7 million Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1), there is not a single horse in either field that deserves to be competing for that sum -- although it's understood hundreds of thousands in entry fees compile those purses

Among the top horses entered in the Pegasus Turf, only the James Jerkens-trained Delta Prince and the Chad Brown-trained Bricks and Mortar have won at least two grass races on North American soil in their relatively limited careers. But equally, that means not a single horse in this rich field deserves to be a solid favorite.

I slightly favor the John Sadler trainee, Catapult, who ships in from California, as the logical horse to beat, especially because he has run so well on so many racing surfaces from Saratoga to Aqueduct, to Laurel Park, Churchill Downs and Del Mar. Versatility like that is hard to come by, or dismiss.

In the Pegasus World Cup, Sadler has shipped in another strong contender. In this case, I’m referring to the 6-year-old Accelerate, who has won 10 of his 22 career starts, with five seconds and five thirds. To tune up for this assignment, Accelerate turned in most of the field’s best workouts since he won the rich Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs on Nov. 3.

Accelerate seems to like 1 1/8 miles, the Pegasus' distance, and he also has earned consistently high Beyer Speed Figures in all but a few of his careers starts. That said, Accelerate has three wins from four lifetime tries at the nine furlong distance. His only defeat came from his top Pegasus rival.

City of Light, who has won five races, with four seconds from 10 career outings, also is a Breeders’ Cup winner having scored nicely in the Dirt Mile the same day as Accelerate's Classic victory. 

Even with high quality horses such as Accelerate and City of Light in the Pegasus, there are others that players will have to consider on their tickets. Mainly, I'm looking at the emerging Tom's d'Etat, the Cigar Mile (G1) winner Patternrecognition and Audible, who won the Florida Derby (G1) over this surface. Frankly, I believe this race could lend itself nicely to spread plays in the trifecta and superfecta.

In three other stakes races on the rich Gulfstream card, I lean slightly toward the consistent Soglio in the W.L. McKnight (G3), run at 1 1/2 miles on the grass just before the Pegasus Turf.

I also like the chances of Aztec Sense in the nine race, the Fred W. Hooper (G3) at one mile around one turn on the main track. I intend to use Aztec Sense with the George Arnold-trained English Affair in the eighth race, the La Prevoyante (G3), while perhaps playing both of those two separately if the odds are fair. Keep in mind that English Affair’s best career form has been in 12-furlong turf races. 

So those are the Saturday stakes at Gulfstream that I like a bit and will use as my plays in this forum. Come back Monday morning for my review of the races named here. A long time ago, I learned that sometimes a loss often reveals a future winner.