Shantisara, Dalika lead Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf field

When it comes to age and experience, Dalika has them all beat in the Grade 3, $500,000 Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf Invitational.

Whether that translates to victory in the 1 1/16-mile turf stakes for the 7-year-old mare remains to be seen. A field of 11 is expected to line up for Saturday’s grass event for older females.

Dalika is listed as the 7-2 second choice on the morning line behind Shantisara, the 2-1 favorite.

“There’s not a horse in America that is more battle-tested than her,” said her trainer, Albert Stall Jr. “She couldn’t be more fit and couldn’t be more of a warrior, so we've got that going for us, too.”

The German-bred mare will be making her 32nd career start in the Pegasus. No other member of the talented field of fillies and mares has as many as 20 lifetime starts, and Wakanaka tops the rest with 15 on her resume. Dalika will be ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr.

“Some of the horses in the Pegasus have just turned four,” Stall said. “We just feel like we have a little bit of an edge in that department.”

Dalika, who made her racing debut in Germany in 2018, is one of seven expected starters who began their careers in a country other than the U.S. The others are Artie’s Princess (Canada), Justify My Love (Argentina), Shantisara (France), Wakanaka (Italy), and Lady Rockstar and Sweet Enough (Great Britain). Only Bay Storm, Mona Stella, Perseverancia and Queen Goddess started out in the U.S.

But Dalika boasts 10 lifetime victories and earnings of more than $1.4 million, easily surpassing any other member of the field in both categories. She won her most recent start, the Cardinal (G3) at Churchill Downs. Her 2022 resume also includes wins in the Beverly D (G1) at Churchill and Ladies Turf (G3) at Kentucky Downs.

One horse who looms as a top contender in the Pegasus is Lady Rockstar, who is coming out of a close second-place finish in Gulfstream’s Suwannee River (G3) on Dec. 31, a race she lost by one length to Stolen Holiday.

“She has done great since the race,” said her trainer, Brendan Walsh. “I thought she ran great in the Suwannee River because we probably had just enough works in her. It was good to see her handle that well and I thought it was a good prep for the Pegasus.”

Tyler Gaffalione will handle the riding duties on Lady Rockstar, the fifth choice at 8-1 on the morning line.

Shantisara is the program favorite in large part because of her Grade 1 victory more than a year ago. She will be ridden by Irad Ortz Jr. for trainer Chad Brown.

The 5-year-old Irish-bred mare has shined since arriving in the U.S. from France by winning three stakes, including the Queen Elizabeth II Cup (G1) at Keeneland in 2021. But she started only twice in 2022, with her most recent outing coming on Nov. 5 at Keeneland when she ran fifth in the Fall Harvest Stakes.

The winner of that Breeders’ Cup undercard event, Wakanaka, also returns in the Pegasus event for older turf females. The 5-year-old Irish-bred mare started her career in Italy, where she won six of her nine starts. Since arriving in North America, Wakanaka has won a pair of stakes, including the Dance Smartly Stakes (G2) at Woodbine.

Wakanaka made her U.S. debut in last year’s Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf, finishing sixth of 10th horses. She followed that performance with a second-place finish in the Honey Fox Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream and a runner-up effort in Belmont Park’s Just A Game (G1).

“When she first came here, she wasn’t that good around two turns,” said Barry Irwin, chief executive officer of co-ownerTeam Valor. “But as she’s raced and trained, she’s gotten smarter and better. She’s physically improved. She’s a lot better now than she was last year. She’s got a really good turn of foot. She’s not a very big filly, but she’s got a lot of power when she turns it on.”

Bay Storm was third in the Suwannee River at Gulfstream after setting the pace in the one-mile stakes for trainer Jonathan Thomas. Listed at odds of 10-1, the 5-year-old mare will be ridden by Frankie Dettori in quest of her first graded-stakes win.

Queen Goddess is the 5-1 third choice. The 5-year-old mare is coming off a 2 1/2-length victory Dec. 31 in the Robert J. Frankel Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita for trainer Michael McCarthny. Luis Saez is scheduled to ride.

Perseverancia (15-1) was second to Dalika in her most recent start, the Cardinal at Churchill Downs in November.

Artie’s Princess (20-1) is trained by South Florida trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. but will be making her first start at Gulfstream after racing primarily in Canada. The 6-year-old mare won a pair of stakes last year at Woodbine.

Sweet Enough (20-1) will be looking for her first U.S. stakes win. Trained by Roger Attfield, the 5-year-old mare recorded three of her four career wins in Great Britain before arriving in the U.S. Junior Alvarado will ride.

Justify My Love (30-1) raced exclusively in Argentina before making her U.S. debut last September at Kentucky Downs for trainer Paulo Lobo, and the Florida-bred Mona Stella (30-1) will be aiming for her first stakes win for trainer and co-owner Patrick Biancone, who trains the horse. She will be ridden by Mike Smith.