By Jessica Martini
With the retirement of last year's champion sprinter Runhappy (Super Saver), owner Jim McIngvale had to go to Plan B to fill his berth in the Jan. 28 GI Pegasus World Cup and he found his candidate for the $12-million race in Argentinian multiple Group 1 winner Eragon (Arg) (Offlee Wild).
“He's a good horse and he was the right price,” McIngvale said while confirming the purchase of the 5-year-old Monday afternoon. “And they don't train on Lasix down there, which was important to me. I'm already invested in the race and Runhappy isn't running anymore, so I had to fill the hole.”
Eragon, previously owned by Vignatti Roberto Antanio and trained by Roberto Pellegatta, has won 10 of 20 races in his native Argentina. In addition to a Group 1 win over the turf, the dark bay captured the June 25 G1 Estrellas Mile and the Nov. 12 G1 Gran Premio Hipodromo de Palermo over the dirt. He has made two starts and won a stakes race at the Pegasus's nine-furlong distance
“We had some people advising us on the horse and then I sent [trainer] Laura [Wohlers] down there to look at him,” McIngvale continued. “We went back and forth for several days and finally got it done. He's in Miami now and we're happy to have Eragon in South Florida getting ready to train for this race.”
McIngvale acknowledged Eragon will face a daunting task against the likes of California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit) in the Pegasus.
“Obviously, it's a tough assignment, but anything is possible in a horse racing,” McIngvale said.
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