By Ben Massam
Soon-to-be barnmates on the Lane's End Farm stallion roster, newly crowned champion Accelerate (Lookin At Lucky) and versatile GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner City of Light (Quality Road) have one final score to settle on the racetrack as the clear headliners in the third renewal of the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park Saturday. With both horses' careers set to come to a close at the conclusion of the $9-million affair and a green light seemingly given to run both tanks down to empty, the nine-furlong Pegasus seems likely to play out as a clash between City of Light's tactical speed and Accelerate's staying power.
The duo met over the Pegasus distance in the GII Oaklawn H. in April, with Mr. and Mrs. William K. Warren's City of Light besting Hronis Racing's Accelerate by a neck in what would ultimately be the lone defeat of the latter's 2018 campaign. Accelerate turned the tables on his third-place-finishing rival over 10 furlongs in the GI Gold Cup at Santa Anita in May, but the pair subsequently went their separate ways in campaigns that landed both in the winner's circle at the Breeders' Cup in November. Accelerate's well-documented sweep of the major handicap events throughout the year in Southern California served as a precursor to a decisive victory in the 1 1/4-mile Classic for trainer John Sadler, while City of Light added a third Grade I victory to his resume with a wire-to-wire score in the Dirt Mile.
City of Light figures to be forwardly placed once again from post three Saturday, while Accelerate also drew favorably in gate five.
“He's a horse that carries his speed a long way, so hopefully we get a nice, clean break and find ourselves in a good position going into the first turn and turning up the backside,” said City of Light's trainer Mike McCarthy.
Klaravich Stables and William H. Lawrence's Patternrecognition (Adios Charlie) could play a major role in the Pegasus pace scenario, having drawn the often-problematic post 12 for his first try around two turns. The Chad Brown trainee was last seen wiring the GI Cigar Mile H. at Aqueduct Dec. 1. Should a lively pace develop, late-running local favorite Gunnevera (Dialed In) could add another feather to his cap, having finished third in last year's Pegasus and runner-up, beaten just a length by Accelerate, at the World Championships in November.
While Gunnevera qualifies as a horse for course as a four-time winner over the local strip, Todd Pletcher-trained Audible (Into Mischief)'s bid to stamp himself as a Gulfstream specialist was met with a surprising setback when the colt could do no better than second as the 1-10 favorite in the GIII Harlan's Holiday S. Dec. 15. Audible, who captured the GI Florida Derby earlier in 2018 en route to a third-place finish in the GI Kentucky Derby, appeared to struggle to find his best stride over the sloppy/sealed surface and could not reel in longshot winner Sir Anthony (Mineshaft) late. By all accounts, Audible has trained forwardly in the wake of that effort and will unite with jockey Flavien Prat for the first time in his career Saturday.
Calumet Farm's Bravazo (Awesome Again) seemingly danced every dance in the 3-year-old division last year and returns from a brief freshening in search of his first Grade I win for Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
