Pegasus World Cup starts Bravazo's aspiring 2020 season
Oaklawn Park-based Bravazo tuned up for the $3 million Pegasus World Cup (G1), set for Jan. 25 at Gulfstream Park, with a five-furlong workout after the renovation break Monday morning for Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas.
Breezing over a fast, sealed surface, Calumet Farm's Bravazo’s time of 1:01 was the fastest of 12 works recorded at the distance. The move represented the second published work for Bravazo since finishing eighth in his comeback race, the Clark Stakes (G1) Nov. 29 at Churchill Downs.
“Good work yesterday,” Lukas said Tuesday morning. “Real good. I thought the track was a little bit sticky, yet he still went in a minute. That was good.”
Lukas said he should confirm a rider for Bravazo later Tuesday, adding the colt is scheduled to work three more times at Oaklawn before shipping to south Florida on Jan. 20.
Bravazo, in his 4-year-old debut, finished fourth in the 2019 Pegasus World Cup before being sidelined following surgery to remove a bone chip from a knee. In his first work following the Clark, Bravazo covered five furlongs in 1:01.40 on Dec. 23.
“He’s right on target, barring any unforeseen setbacks,” Lukas said.
Lukas said the 1 1/8-mile Pegasus World Cup is the start of an ambitious three-race global campaign for Bravazo, who was among the country’s leading 3-year-olds in 2018.
Following the Pegasus World Cup, Lukas said Bravazo is scheduled to compete in the inaugural $20 million Saudi Cup – the world’s richest race – Feb. 29 in Saudi Arabia and the $12 million Dubai World Cup (G1) March 28 in the United Arab Emirates.
“That’s our plan,” Lukas said. “That isn’t everybody’s plan. I hear these guys saying, ‘Well, they think they’re waiting for Saudi and not run in the Pegasus.’ To hell with that, I’m running in all three of them. I think he thrives on work. If I don’t do that, seriously, we’d put probably four or five more works into him. That’s probably as shaky as anything.”
In 2018, Bravazo won an entry-level allowance race at Oaklawn and the $400,000 Risen Star Stakes (G2) at Fair Grounds before finishing second in the Preakness at Pimlico and $1 million Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1) at Monmouth Park and third in the $1.25 million Travers Stakes (G1) at Saratoga and $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) at Churchill Downs.
Bravazo has 3-4-3 record from 18 lifetime starts and earnings of $2,009,528.