Pegasus World Cup: Odds, analysis for Gulfstream feature

The 10th running of the Grade 1, $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational, which will be run Saturday at Gulfstream Park, drew a final field of 12, which includes undefeated morning-line favorite Disco Time.

Bob Baffert has three victories in the Pegasus with Arrogate, Mucho Gusto and National Treasure. Todd Pletcher, Brad Cox and Saffie Joseph also are past winners with horses in this year’s race. Together they won six of the nine runnings of Gulfstream Park’s signature race.

The jockeys from eight of the previous Pegasus winners have a mount in this year’s race. Irad Ortiz Jr. won three times, including last year with White Abarrio, Life Is Good in 2022 and Mucho Gusto in 2020. Flavien Prat, Junior Alvarado, Joel Rosario, Javier Castellano and Mike Smith each have one Pegasus victory.

Here is the odds and analysis for the 1 1/8-mile Pegasus World Cup with the official track morning-line odds. The feature on the Pegasus card is set as the final race of 13 with post time scheduled for 5:39 p.m. EST.

1. Disco Time, 8-5. Not This Time – Brad Cox / Flavien Prat – 5: 5-0-0 - $551,960. Disco Time is undefeated in five starts that span 13 months as a heavy favorite each time. Beginning with a maiden victory and an allowance, he won twice at Churchill Downs in 2024 nearing the end of his 2-year-old season. On the Kentucky Derby trail, he raced from last to win the Lecomte (G3) by a neck. Disco Time was then sidelined for eight months until September, when he won the St. Louis Derby at Fairmount Park, followed by the Dwyer at Aqueduct. Brad Cox sent him to Payson Park to prepare for the Pegasus, which will be the 4-year-old’s first start against older horses and the first time that Florent Geroux will not be riding. Win contender.

2. British Isles, 20-1. Justify – David Fawkes / Diego Herrera – 22: 3-6-4 - $287,526. British Isles has two turf allowances in his record, with one at Santa Anita in October and one at Keeneland in April. He moved from turf to dirt at Del Mar in November and finished second in the nine-furlong Native Diver (G3) after having the lead in the stretch. California rider Diego Herrera retains the mount as British Isles tries to win a stakes race for the first time. Toss.

3. Full Serrano, 12-1. Full Mast – John Sadler / Joel Rosario – 20: 7-6-2 - $936,423. Full Serrano is one of three Grade 1 winners in this year’s Pegasus as the winner of the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at 13-1. After a 10-month layoff he won an allowance at Del Mar in September and then was second in the Goodwood (G1) at Santa Anita, where he set the pace. In this year’s Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, he had a troubled trip, which kept him from getting to his preferred position as the pacesetter. Joel Rosario, who rode him in both Breeders’ Cup races, will ride him on Saturday. Rosario won the Pegasus in 2021 for Brad Cox on Knicks Go. Probable pacesetter.

4. Banishing, 20-1. Ghostzapper – David Jacobson / Jose Ortiz – 26: 9-6-3 - $1,968,409. Banishing moved to the barn of David Jacobson in 2024 and was pulled up early in his first start at Saratoga. The Godolphin homebred returned to the races at Keeneland in October and began a streak of nine races where he finished first or second. He was running in only stakes and won a pair of Grade 2 races. In 2025 Banishing was in the top two nine times while earning $1.6 million. He was uncompetitive in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint but bounced back to get second in a black-type stakes at Oaklawn in December. Use underneath.

5. Skippylongstocking, 15-1. Exaggerator – Saffie Joseph Jr. / Tyler Gaffalione – 35: 12-3-7 - $3,775,250. Skippylongstocking will run in the Pegasus for the fourth year in a row. In those past efforts, he finished third, did not finish and was seventh. He is one of three millionaires in this year’s field as he seeks the first Grade 1 win of his career. Skippy registered four of his 12 victories at Gulfstream Park, including the Harlan’s Holiday (G3) in December, where he defeated Poster by a neck. Five of his wins were at the nine-furlong distance. Use underneath.

6. Madaket Road, 10-1. Quality Road – Bob Baffert / Mike Smith – 9: 1-4-1 - $580,000. Madaket Road gets "Big Money" Mike Smith to ride. Smith won the first Pegasus for Baffert in 2017 with Arrogate when the purse money was listed as $12 million. Some of the ownership group of Madaket Road won the 2024 edition with National Treasure. Madaket Road has only a maiden victory to his credit although eight of his nine starts were in graded stakes. He made only one start at the nine-furlong distance, and that resulted in a fourth-place finish in the Florida Derby (G1) at Gulfstream last year. His three most recent races were at seven furlongs in Grade 1 stakes. This will be his first try against older competition. Toss.

7. Tappan Street, 6-1. Into Mischief – Brad Cox / Luis Saez – 4: 3-1-0 - $670,400. Tappan Street is the second Cox runner in the field. All four of his starts were at Gulfstream, where he became a Grade 1 winner in the Florida Derby after which he went on a nine-month layoff. He came back to win an allowance against a field of six that was open to older horses as the 1-10 favorite. Luis Saez gets back on board as Irad Ortiz is riding White Abarrio. Cox will try to win the Pegasus for the second time. Top pick.

8. Poster, 20-1. Munnings – Eoin Harty / Junior Alvarado – 7: 4-1-1 - $409,480. Poster won the first starts of his career, with two on the turf and then the Remsen (G2) as a 2-year-old. He continued on the Kentucky Derby trail with a third in the Sam F. Davis and a fourth in the Jeff Ruby (G3). He missed the Triple Crown races during an eight-month layoff and came back to win an allowance on the grass at Churchill against a field of six in November. Last seen, Poster was second in the Harlan’s Holiday after having the lead in the stretch. Junior Alvarado won the 2023 Pegasus with Art Collector for Bill Mott. Blinkers go on. Toss.

9. Captain Cook, 15-1. Practical Joke – Todd Pletcher / John Velazquez – 8: 2-2-2 - $456,056. Captain Cook began his career with Norm Casse and ran once for him in Kentucky. He moved to Rick Dutrow and won twice as a 2-year-old at Aqueduct in a maiden and the Withers, and those were his only trips to the winner’s circle. Captain has two starts for Pletcher with a nose loss in the Jerkens (G1) at Saratoga and in the Perryville (G3) at Keeneland going seven furlongs. His last three races were sprinting, but his win in the Withers was at the nine-furlong distance. Todd Pletcher won the Pegasus in 2022 with Life Is Good. Use underneath.

10. Mika, 10-1. Catholic Boy – Michael Maker / Manny Franco – 8: 3-1-0 - $214,664. Mika began his career with Mike Maker and ran twice on the grass as a 2-year-old with a maiden win at Ellis Park. He moved to the barn of Brittany Russell and won a pair of allowances on the dirt at Laurel Park and Delaware Park. After moving back to Maker, Mika set the pace in the Cigar Mile (G1) and got caught in the stretch to lose by a neck. He has been training at Gulfstream with a fast recent breeze. He will be part of the pace as he seeks his first stakes victory. Distance will be a challenge.

11. White Abarrio, 4-1. Race Day – Saffie Joseph Jr. / Irad Ortiz Jr. – 24: 10-2-3 – $7,151,920. White Abarrio is one of the Grade 1 winners in this race, with victories in the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita and last year’s Pegasus. Eight of his 10 wins were at Gulfstream. His last first-place finish was in March in the Ghostzapper (G3), and since then he ran in three Grade 1 races at Saratoga, finishing fourth in each. The 7-year-old has been off since the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) in August because of a setback in his training. Irad Ortiz gets back on board looking for another Grade 1 victory. Win contender.

12. Brotha Keny, 30-1. Mo Town – Jose D’Angelo / Javier Castellano – 13: 4-1-3 - $499,528. Brotha Keny won the Zia Park Derby in November and will make his first appearance in 2025 as a newly turned 4-year-old in his first Grade 1 attempt. He also was third in the Indiana Derby (G3) and the West Virginia Derby (G3). The morning-line long shot.

AE-1. Lightning Tones, Tonalist – Jose Castro / Jose Morelos – 33: 7-7-6 – $377,085.

AE-2. Catalytic, Catalina Cruiser – Antonio Sano / David Egan – 10: 3-7-1 – $362,085. 

Summary: The pace projector says the Pegasus will be fast, with Full Serrano and Mika out front in the early stages of this nine-furlong Grade 1 race. White Abarrio, Captain Cook, Madaket Road, Disco Time and Skippylongstocking have their best results when they are close to the pace.

With that many forwardly placed horses in the field, the advantage goes to the late runners. Tappan Street shows up in a Pegasus field that is far less accomplished than in the past. Tappan Street is one of three Grade 1 winners in the field and he did it at Gulfstream going the Pegasus distance. Tappan Street is the top pick.