Rinaldo Del Gallo, III
By: Rinaldo Del Gallo, III
I have previously written that I was disappointed with the Pegasus World Cup field. For this publication I wrote “The Pegasus World Cup Disappoints.” I wrote:
“But horses run so infrequently, two horse races, just one month apart, appears to be a ‘no go.’ The Saudi Cup is February 24, 2024. The Pegasus is January 27th. Despite being days shy of a month apart, White Abarrio will take shot at the Saudi Cup and not the Pegasus.”
https://horseracingtoday.net/the-pegasus-world-cup-field-disappoints/
I had picked Ushba Tesoro (JPN) b. H, 2017 {9-f} (Orfevre) as the bet with the most value, and he did not disappoint—I recommended an “across the board” bet, and he did pay “$4.80” to place. Thus, $2 to win and $2 place yielded $4.80, for an 80 cents profit on the $4 bet. “Place” in Europe is a “show” bet in America (where one must come in first, second or third). In Europe, there is no betting on which horses come in first and second but not third (what Americans call a “place” bet.). Because a “place” bet in Europe means a “show” bet in the United States, and because the American rendition of a “place” bet (first or second but not third) is not available in Europe, it can be confusing. That said, the Saudi Cup betting followed the European tradition of “place” betting.
I also liked (but did not recommend) the eventual winner Senor Buscador (USA) b. H, 2018 {23-b}(Mineshaft)—I often like horses that barely lose to favorites and are overlooked with near misses in the past performances. Look, I am only human and I thought White Abarrio was the most likely to cross the finish line first, but he was paying little, and horses are not machines with certain wins.
But the big news of the day, and this is great for American racing, is that a horse can run in the Pegasus World Cup and be competitive in the world’s richest horse race, the Saudi Cup. Senor Buscador had finished a solid second in the Pegasus, only losing by a neck. In the Cigar Mile, he just lost to Hoist the Gold by four lengths.
I wrote:
The Saudi Cup—the world’s richest horse race—started in 2020 and that was probably the end of using the Donn or the Pegasus as a prep for the Dubai World Cup.
Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia/ Neville Hopwood
Senor Buscador, which many state is “Mr. Prospector” (a famous sire) in English, picked up 10 million dollars in the Saudi Cup. Moreover, the winner of the Pegasus, National Treasure (USA) b. C, 2020 {4-c}, ran a respectable fourth—in this 20 million dollar purse race, that amounts to a $1 million dollar paycheck. That is the mathematical equivalent of winning a $1,666,666 horse race with the winner taking 60% of the purse. National Treasure won $900,000 when he took the 2023 Preakness. He earned $1 million for his fourth in the Saudi Derby.
The point I am driving home, with much intentional redundancy, is that a horse can run in the Pegasus and do well in the Saudi Cup at the King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Senor Buscador and National Treasure acclimated and did well. Moreover, as heavy favorite White Abarrio (USA) gr/r. H, 2019 {9-e}(Race Day) shows, who was well below even money, ducking the Pegasus is not necessarily a path to victory. The announcers said that White Abarrio has been plagued with injuries throughout his career, and his light training regime might have caused his poor performance—I will leave the diagnosis as to why White Abarrio lost to others, however, I will highlight his Pegasus World Cup duck.
This is good for horse racing because, it is hoped, no longer will America’s best horses duck the $3 million dollar Pegasus to be “rested” for the Saudi Cup. True, Saudi Crown (USA) gr/r. C, 2020 {12-c}(Quality Road) did well, came in third, but the 2024 Saudi Cup really shows skipping the Pegasus is no guarantee of success. Yes, there are horses such as KNICKS GO (USA) gr/r. H, 2016 {1-w} that came in fourth in the Saudi Cup after a Pegasus win, but that may be just the usual aberrations in horse racing.
THE BIG TAKEAWAYS:
- The 2024 Pegasus shows that the Pegasus World Cup makes a good prep race for the Saudi Cup. Senor Buscador and National Treasure both demonstrate this.
- If a trainer or owner has a top-notch horse, there is no need to skip the Pegasus in order to improve chances in the Saudi Cup.
It is my hope that this will lead to higher quality Pegasus World Cups in the future. Senor Buscador and National Treasure proves that running in the Pegasus helps, rather than hinders, one’s chances in the Saudi Cup.
