By Brian DiDonato
After a close finish in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic and a split decision at the Eclipse Awards and Longines World's Best Racehorse Awards, California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit) and Arrogate (Unbridled's Song) will take it to the track one more time in the much-anticipated first renewal of the world's richest horse race, the $12-million GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park.
For 'Chrome,' this is something of a curtain call. The two-time Horse of the Year, dual Classic winner and North America's highest-earning racehorse of all time will be heading off to the breeding shed at Taylor Made Farm after his 27th career start Saturday. After an abbreviated 2015 season, the Alan Sherman pupil earned more than $8 million last season at five, with wins in the G1 Dubai World Cup and GI Pacific Classic before falling a half-length short of his re-opposing foe at the Breeders' Cup. Chrome prepped for this with a 12-length laugher in the Winter Challenge S. at Los Alamitos Dec. 17, and got the nod over Arrogate for Horse of the Year honors announced here one week earlier, but must overcome the dreaded 12 post with a very short run into the first turn (For more, read The Pegasus: It Should Have Been 10 Furlongs. Click here for video of Chrome's final pre-Pegasus breeze Jan. 21 at Gulfstream Park {5f, :58 4/5, Jan. 21<}).
Juddmonte's 'TDN Rising Star' Arrogate, meanwhile, was named the Longines World's Best Racehorse Tuesday in London off the strength of his Classic victory, and appears to be entering this race in fine fashion despite a prolonged period of wet weather in California doing its best to get in the way (Click here for Arrogate 'His Normal Self' at Gulfstream and here for video of his last breeze at Santa Anita Jan. 21 {6f, 1:12, 5/8}).
The lightly raced now 4-year-old took his first major class test in Saratoga's GI Travers S., and to say he 'aced' it would be an understatement–the $560,000 KEESEP pick-up looked like he had been given the answers beforehand, dropping jaws en route to a record-smashing 13 1/2-length romp that earned him a gaudy -4 3/4 Thoro-Graph number and 122 Beyer. He silenced any talk of the Travers being a fluke when he reeled in California Chrome in his last racetrack appearance, good for a -5 Thoro-Graph and 120 Beyer.
There are 10 other horses and three alternates entered in the Pegasus, and while the top two certainly appear on paper poised to complete a stone cold quinella, there exists at least some possibility of a hot pace materializing.
Noble Bird (Birdstone) could be the key to the pace and maybe the race. Brilliant on occasion, the 6-year-old Grade I winner is most dangerous when allowed to speed off up front. He employed those tactics when annexing Churchill's Lukas Classic Oct. 1 and Keeneland's Oct. 29 GII Fayette S. by a large margin, the latter good for a -3 1/2 on Thoro-Graph and 109 on the Beyer scale. Unable to make a clear lead after a rough start in the Nov. 25 GI Clark H., however, he checked in seventh behind Breaking Lucky (Lookin At Lucky) (second) and Shaman Ghost (Ghostzapper) (third) and ahead of Prayer for Relief (Jump Start).
Shaman Ghost, who carries the colors of Pegasus visionary Frank Stronach, upset Frosted (Tapit) in Saratoga's GI Woodward S. in September. Breaking Lucky was fourth beaten three heads that day.
Todd Pletcher, dominating Gulfstream's championship meet again this season as he typically does, will be represented by a pair of entrants in the main body of the Pegasus field. Late-running grinder Keen Ice (Curlin) ran on for third behind the big two in the Classic, and was second off a slow pace set by stablemate and Pegasus alternate/Poseidon H. favorite Stanford (Malibu Moon) in this venue's 8 1/2-panel GIII Harlan's Holiday S. Dec. 17. Neolithic (Harlan's Holiday) came out of nowhere to be second at 22-1 in the GIII Discovery S. Nov. 12, and cruised by nine lengths in a local allowance Dec. 14.
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