Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
West Coast gears up for Pegasus
ARCADIA, Calif. – West Coast, the likely second choice to Gun Runner in the upcoming Pegasus World Cup on Jan. 27 at Gulfstream Park, had his last major drill for that race Sunday morning at Santa Anita, where he went six furlongs from the gate in 1:12 under jockey Drayden Van Dyke.
West Coast is scheduled for one more – easier – work at Santa Anita before departing for Florida on Jan. 24, three days before the Pegasus, but this was his last serious work. He went in company, and Van Dyke slapped him twice righthanded crossing the wire to encourage him to go out farther.
“Good, nice,” said his trainer, Bob Baffert. “He needs to go in company. He’s sort of a lazy horse.”
Baffert won the inaugural Pegasus World Cup last year with Arrogate and is scheduled to have two runners in this year’s race in West Coast and Collected. They were third and second, respectively, behind Gun Runner – the ante post favorite for the Pegasus – in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar two months ago.
Baffert said Javier Castellano will ride West Coast in the Pegasus and that Mike Smith retains the mount on Collected.
Solomini to miss Robert Lewis
Solomini, disqualified from victory last month in the CashCall Futurity at Los Alamitos, was scheduled to make his 3-year-old debut in the Grade 3, $150,000 Robert Lewis Stakes on Feb. 3 at Santa Anita, but it looks like he’ll have to wait a couple of weeks for another spot after spiking a slight temperature Saturday.
“He was scheduled to work yesterday,” Baffert said Sunday morning, “but he got a little temperature yesterday. He’s going to miss about five or six days. Until then, I was going to run him in the Lewis.”
Several trainers, including Baffert and Richard Mandella, said that some of their horses had spiked temperatures in recent days.
Peace may make stakes debut
The promising 3-year-old Peace, who won a two-turn maiden race in his third career start Dec. 30, could jump right into the Robert Lewis Stakes for his next start, Mandella said after Peace worked five furlongs in 1:02.60 under Smith on Sunday morning.
“I’m trying to size up his next start, either the Lewis or an allowance,” said Mandella, who described Peace – a son of Violence – as “kind of a lazy work horse.”
No excuses for Majestic Heat
Mandella offered no excuses for the dull try turned in by 6-5 favorite Majestic Heat on Saturday in the Grade 2 La Canada Stakes, in which she finished fifth behind the victorious Mopotism.
“She came back fine. We just had her out and she looked good,” said Mandella, who said that unless something unforeseen arose in subsequent days his inclination was to try again with Majestic Heat.
City of Light has strong work
Trainer Michael McCarthy was weighing his options Sunday after being impressed with a sharp work by Malibu Stakes winner City of Light, who went five furlongs in 59.20 seconds, an outstanding time over a track that was playing on the dull side. It was the fastest of 90 works at the distance Sunday.
“He worked so good, I don’t know what to do,” McCarthy said. “Still deciding whether to go one turn or two.”
City of Light, by Quality Road, won the seven-furlong Malibu on Dec. 26. He has never finished worse than second in five career starts.