Audible a Go for Pegasus

Despite a stunning defeat as the 1-10 favorite in the Dec. 15 GIII Harlan's Holiday S., Audible (Into Mischief) has been given the green light to make his next start in the Jan. 26 GI Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park. The Harlan's Holiday was always expected to be a Pegasus prep for Audible, but his camp was non-committal about his next start after the runner-up effort in the 1 1/16-mile race.

“At the time, I was definitely discouraged over the defeat,” said Elliott Walden, the president and CEO of WinStar Farm, a co-owner of Audible. “I was disappointed with his race, but when you stand back and look at it, it was on a sloppy racetrack and he had a very wide trip. With those two factors, we will give him the benefit of the doubt. If you stand back and look at his record, it's pretty solid. He has never been off the board and has won four of seven starts. It's a pretty stellar record and he deserves the opportunity to go in the Pegasus.”

Audible's defeat in the Harlan's Holiday was among the biggest upsets in racing this year. In what was supposed to be little more than a paid public workout on his way to the Pegasus, he finished second, a half-length behind 25-1 shot Sir Anthony (Mineshaft). It was the first time Sir Anthony had competed in a graded stakes race. He will not be coming back for the Pegasus.

“It was an odd race, a very odd race,” Walden said. “He's a very talented horse and we believe he's one of the best horses in the country. Hopefully, it will be fast on Pegasus Day. Javier [Castellano] didn't think he has handling the track and didn't put his best foot forward.”

The winner of last year's GI Florida Derby at Gulfstream, Audible seemed to be getting back on track after an injury knocked him out of the GI Belmont S. and sidelined him until Nov. 3. He returned that day with an easy win in the Cherokee Run S. at Churchill and seemed primed to take another step forward in the Harlan's Holiday.

In other news out of the WinStar camp, Walden reports that major Kentucky Derby contender Improbable (City Zip) will not have his 3-year-old debut until March. Undefeated in three starts, he is coming off a five-length win in the GI Los Alamitos Futurity. Though the races have yet to be determined, Improbable will likely have one start in March, another in April and then head to the Derby. With his trainer, Bob Baffert, having several top colts aiming for next year's Derby, Walden realizes there's a chance Improbable may have to leave his base at Santa Anita.

“We wanted to freshen him up,” Walden said. “He'll have back-to-back races before the Derby and then, if he's successful [in the Derby], he could again have back-to-back races. So we wanted to take this time to give him a break. We haven't talked about any particular races. I am sure Bob would want to split his 3-year-olds up and so would we. We'll figure all that out when the time comes.”

Although WinStar is involved with some other talented 2-year-old colts, Walden said at this point Improbable is the only one the team considers a Derby prospect.

Bulletin (City Zip) is two-for-two and won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf. Walden said he some day could have a start on the dirt, but he is not viewed as a distance horse. Instead, the goal for next year for Bulletin will be a win at Royal Ascot.

“He's very fast and we are looking at Royal Ascot,” Walden said. “The first part of the year, we'll start looking at how we get there. We'll mainly look at the [G3] Jersey S. or the [G1] Commonwealth at Ascot.

“We also have a horse we really like named Preamble (Speightstown),” Walden said. “He's trained by Rodolphe Brisset and is two-for-two. We're looking at the major one-turn 3-year-old races, like the [GI Woody Stephens] with him. He's also a very fast horse.”