G1 Pegasus World Cup Report: Poster To Get Blinkers for Saturday’s $3 Million Purse

$1M Pegasus Turf (G1) First Road Trip for Call Sign Seven
Coppola Seeking Record Third Win in Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint
Gulfstream Park Well-Represented by Eclipse Award Winners
Prat On All the Favorites on Pegasus World Cup Day

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Godolphin’s Grade 2-winning homebred Poster, second as the favorite in the Harlan’s Holiday (G3) last month, will have a change of equipment when he returns to Gulfstream Park for his 4-year-old debut in Saturday’s $3 million Pegasus World Cup (G1).

Trained by Eoin Harty, Poster rallied from last to come up a head short of 10-time graded-stakes winning multimillionaire Skippylongstocking in the 1 1/16-mile Harlan’s Holiday, local prep for the Pegasus. Skippylongstocking returns for a record fourth straight year.

“He had to make up six lengths just to get to the winner. The winner got the jump and he got the inside trip,” Harty said. “We were quite wide that day, and he just came up a head short. I think if the positions were reversed, he probably would have won.

“I put some blinkers on him so, hopefully, he’ll lay a little closer and not have quite as much to do in the latter part of the race,” he added. “Apart from that, it’s a matter of how good a trip he gets. I’d like to see him try to save some ground somewhere.”

Poster drew Post 5 of 12 in the Pegasus under jockey Junior Alvarado, who will be aboard for the first time. Flavien Prat, who rode in the Harlan’s Holiday, has the call on the undefeated 8-5 program favorite Disco Time.

By Munnings, Poster has registered three bullet works at Tampa Bay Downs since the Harlan’s Holiday, the most recent a half-mile move in 48.40 seconds Dec. 20. Favored in each of his last three starts, he is rated at 20-1 on the morning line.

Poster went undefeated at 2 capped by a victory in the 1 1/8-mile Remsen (G2) at Aqueduct. Last year he was third in the Sam F. Davis and fourth in the Jeff Ruby (G3), the latter on Turfway Park’s synthetic surface, before going to the sidelines. He returned to beat older horses in a one-mile turf allowance Nov. 9 at Churchill Downs before facing elders again in the Harlan’s Holiday.

“He’s doing very well,” Harty said. “He’s very fit. He’s very happy. He’s maturing more and more all the time. He’s still a young 4-year-old. He has a tendency to think about things, being out of a Tapit mare, but he seems very mature. He’s even better this time than he was a month ago here. And he’s going to have to be.”

Two races earlier, Harty will also send out Godolphin’s Grade 2-winning 4-year-old homebred Verity in the $225,000 Inside Information (G2) for older fillies and mares sprinting seven furlongs on the main track.

Godolphin was awarded its sixth straight Eclipse Award as North America’s leading owner and fifth consecutive champion breeder award during Thursday’s ceremony in Palm Beach.

$1M Pegasus Turf (G1) First Road Trip for Call Sign Seven

Savio-Cannon Thoroughbreds’ Call Sign Seven, late-running winner of the one-mile Seabiscuit Handicap (G2) in his last start over Thanksgiving weekend, takes his talent on the road for the first time in Saturday’s $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) at Gulfstream Park.

The 5-year-old son of champion Speighstown has raced exclusively on the West Coast for Southern California-based trainer Michael McCarthy, his six starts the fewest in the Pegasus Turf field. Three of them have been wins highlighted by his dramatic half-length triumph in the Seabiscuit.

“Obviously the last race was a big effort. It was a surprise, but I thought he had that kind of race in him,” McCarthy said. “I had the intention of going in an allowance race and winning that and trying to get into something like the San Gabriel [G3] on opening day at Santa Anita [Dec. 28]. The race never filled and we opted for the Seabiscuit, and he ran a blinder that day. I thought coming back in the San Gabriel might be a bit quick for him, so we decided to hold off and see if he got invited to come here and here we are.”

McCarthy said Call Sign Seven, who schooled in Gulfstream’s walking ring Thursday, has made a smooth adjustment to South Florida.

“He’s taken his travel well. It’s the first time he’s ever really gone anywhere, but he’s doing well and he’s trained well,” McCarthy said. “His style as far as Gulfstream is concerned is probably not ideal given that speed’s been good, but going a mile and an eighth I think you’re going to see plenty of pace up there.

“Cabo Spirit and probably somebody else you would think would kind of keep each other company on the lead. He won’t be too far away, mid-pack I’d think,” he added. “He’s got a very good turn of foot. Hopefully we get to see it here on Saturday.”

McCarthy has had a history of success racing at Gulfstream, including victories in the 2019 Pegasus World Cup with City of Light and 2023 Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf (G2) with Queen Goddess.

“We want to build on that this weekend,” he said. “Next year we’ll be back with a few more, hopefully.”

Coppola Seeking Record Third Win in Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint

Sport of Kings Racing Partners’ Coppola will break from outside all but one of his 11 rivals as he bids for a third straight victory in Saturday’s $175,000 Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint presented by Seminole Hard Rock.

Trained by Dale Romans, Coppola drew Post 11 in an overflow field of 13 that includes one also-eligible, 50-1 longshot Sam the Sham. To be ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., Coppola is rated as fourth choice on the morning line at 6-1.

The 7-year-old Coppola is one of three back-to-back winners of the Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint, along with Yes I Am Free (2022-23) and Power Alert (2016-17). No horse has won the race more than twice.

Coppola became a millionaire when he finished third as the favorite in Gulfstream’s five-furlong Janus on the grass Dec. 20. It was his 35th career start and first since being beaten a neck in the 5 ½-furlong Kentucky Downs Preview Turf Sprint Aug. 3 at Ellis Park. Four of his 11 career wins have come in eight tries at Gulfstream.

The 3-1 program favorite is Gary Barber’s Ontario-bred My Boy Prince, a fellow millionaire that owns six career wins and has placed in four Grade 1 stakes, most recently the Woodbine Mile in mid-September. He is unraced since being eased to the finish of the 1 ½-mile Canadian International (G1) Oct. 4.

Unconquerable Keen ships in from Southern California for trainer Philip D’Amato, where the 7-year-old gelding has won the past three runnings of the five-furlong Stormy Liberal at Del Mar. In 17 starts since coming to the U.S. from Ireland he has raced only once away from home, when he ran third by two lengths in last May’s Turf Sprint (G2) at Churchill Downs.

The field also includes stakes winners Out On Bail, And Uwish, Eamonn, Incanto, Sosua Summer, Full Disclosure and Asher’s Edge. Irish-bred Khaadem, winner of the 2023 and 2024 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee (G1) at Royal Ascot, will not run.

Gulfstream Park Well-Represented by Eclipse Award Winners

Led by champion 3-year-old male and Horse of the Year Sovereignty, Gulfstream Park was well-represented at the 55th annual Eclipse Awards held Thursday in Palm Beach.

Sovereignty launched his championship season winning Gulfstream’s Fountain of Youth (G2) and four weeks later suffered the only loss of the year when second to Tappan Street in the $1 million Curlin Florida Derby (G1). He went on to Grade 1 wins in the Kentucky Derby, Belmont and Travers.

Bred and owned by Godolphin, Sovereignty is trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott. Gulfstream’s nine-time Championship leading trainer, Mott earned his fifth Eclipse Award as champion trainer. Godolphin won its fifth consecutive Eclipse as leading breeder and sixth straight as leading owner.

D. J. Stable homebred Nitrogen was voted champion 3-year-old filly. Like Sovereignty she opened 2025 with a Gulfstream stakes victory, hers coming in the one-mile Ginger Brew on the turf. She won five graded-stakes including the Alabama (G1) on dirt and placed in three other Grade 1 races including the Breeders’ Cup Distaff.

Morplay Racing and Qatar Racing’s Shisospicy, named champion female sprinter, won a five-furlong optional claiming allowance on the Gulfstream turf in her second start of 2025. She won four of her next five starts, two in graded-stakes, before beating the boys in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1). She is based with trainer Jose D’Angelo at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream’s satellite training facility in Palm Beach County.

Spendthrift Farm’s Ted Noffey, voted champion 2-year-old male, is being pointed to making his 3-year-old debut in Gulfstream’s $400,000 Fountain of Youth Feb. 28. He breezed a half-mile in 50.81 seconds Friday at Palm Beach Downs for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, winner of an unprecedented 18 consecutive Championship Meet titles.

Prat On All the Favorites on Pegasus World Cup Day

Jockey Flavien Prat has the distinction of being named on all three of the morning-line favorites in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1), $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1), and the $500,000 TAA Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf Invitational (G2).

Prat, who won the 2024 Pegasus World Cup aboard National Treasure, will ride Disco Time, the 8-5 undefeated morning-line favorite in the Pegasus World Cup, 5-2 favorite Program Trading in the Pegasus World Cup Turf, and 9-2 favorite Whiskey Decision in the Pegasus Filly & Mare.

Disco Time is trained by Brad Cox, while Program Trading and Whiskey Decision are trained by Chad Brown. Prat won his second consecutive Eclipse Award Thursday.

Charles Town to Pegasus

One route to the Pegasus World Cup Invitational seems to be via Charles Town, WV. Art Collector, winner of the 2021 and 2022 Charles Town Classic (G2), won the Pegasus in 2022. Last year’s Charles Town Classic winner, Banishing, and 2023 and 2024 winner Skippylongstocking will be in Saturday’s Pegasus gate.

__Pletcher, Maker & Brown Seek 3rd Pegasus Turf __

Trainers Todd Pletcher, Mike Maker and Chad Brown will attempt to win their third Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational. Pletcher won the race in consecutive years with Colonel Liam (2021-22). Maker saddled Atone (2023) and Zulu Alpha (2020) to victories, while Brown won last year with Spirit of St Louis and in 2019 with Horse of the Year Bricks and Mortar.

Pegasus and Irad

Make sure to know who Irad Ortiz Jr. is riding come Pegasus Day. Gulfstream’s leading jockey the last three years and six of the last seven years has won the Pegasus World Cup three times and the Pegasus World Cup Turf four times. His victories in the $3 million Pegasus were aboard White Abarrio (2025), Life Is Good (2022) and Mucho Gusto (2020). His victories in the Pegasus Turf were aboard Atone (2023), Colonel Liam (2021-22), and Bricks and Mortar (2019). On Saturday Ortiz Jr. rides White Abarrio in the Pegasus World Cup and Major Dude in the Pegasus Turf.