WinStar Farm, China Horse Club International, SF Racing and Head of Plains Partners' Yoshida (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Ire}), a Grade I winner on turf and dirt last year, will return to the grass for his 2019 debut in the Jan. 26 $7-million GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational at Gulfstream Park.
“We debated about whether to run him on the dirt or the turf,” WinStar president and CEO Elliott Walden said Friday. “The nice thing about Yoshida is he's a Grade I winner on both surfaces. We felt like with Audible (Into Mischief) [also co-owned by WinStar and expected to start over the main track in the GI Pegasus World Cup] being in the other race, this was a good place to start.”
Yoshida, a 'TDN Rising Star,' opened 2018 with a win in the GI Old Forester Turf Classic at Churchill Downs. He won the GI Woodward S. in his first start over the dirt at Saratoga last September and was most recently fourth in the Nov. 3 GI Breeders' Cup Classic.
“He's done great,” Walden said. “He had a little bit of a break for the month of November and then started back training. He's had three breezes at Payson Park and Bill [Mott] is really happy with him. He's continued to fill out and do well and we're excited about the upcoming year with him. He's unbelievable. He's been a good horse from Day 1.”
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