GULFSTREAM McKinzie may fill Leofric spot in Pegasus

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The 12th and final spot in the $9 million Pegasus World Cup has opened with the defection of Leofric, and Gulfstream Park officials were in discussions with Bob Baffert about McKinzie taking his place in the Jan. 26 race.

Trainer Brad Cox said this week that Leofric, winner of the Grade 1 Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs in his most recent start, has been withdrawn because of a nagging quarter crack. Owned by Steve Landers, the gray 6-year-old horse had two breezes at his Fair Grounds base following the Nov. 23 Clark, but Cox had to stop on him recently. He said the Razorback in March at Oaklawn Park may be Leofric’s new target, and that he could go on to the Oaklawn Handicap or the Ben Ali at Keeneland in April.

“It’s something he’s battled off and on since I’ve had him the last couple of years,” Cox said. “We really wanted to run, but that’s the way this game can go sometimes. We’ll regroup with him, maybe shoot for the Razorback, bring him back when he’s good again.

“The good thing is this isn’t a major deal and we’re hoping to have him back training fairly soon.”

As of Friday, Gulfstream had a working list of 11 candidates for the $9 million Pegasus, which does not include McKinzie, a 4 3/4-length winner of Grade 1 Malibu at seven furlongs on Dec. 26 at Santa Anita. Baffert has expressed interest in running McKinzie in the 1 1/8-mile Pegasus.

With or without McKinzie, this looks like easily the most competitive Pegasus to date. In the 2017 inaugural, worth $12 million, Arrogate won as the 9-10 favorite as second choice California Chrome faltered in his final career start. Last year, for a $16 million purse, Gun Runner was an easy winner as the 11-10 favorite in his career finale.

In alphabetical order, these are the 11 confirmed for the third Pegasus: Accelerate, Audible, Bravazo, City of Light, Gunnevera, Kukulkan, Patternrecognition, Seeking the Soul, Something Awesome, Tom’s d’Etat, and True Timber. An also-eligibles list beyond the 12-horse limit will be used if needed.

Some jockey assignments are still to be finalized. Gulfstream announced Thursday that international riding star Frankie Dettori will have the mount on the Mexican-bred Kukulkan, who is unbeaten in 14 career starts.

Meanwhile, the field for the first $7 million Pegasus World Cup Turf has yet to come into sharp focus. Yoshida, a Grade 1 winner on both turf and dirt, is among the top prospects for the 1 3/16-mile Pegasus Turf.

Yoshida, owned in part by WinStar Farm, most recently was fourth behind Accelerate in the Nov. 3 Breeders’ Cup Classic. Gulfstream is offering a $1 million bonus to an owner that can win both Pegasus races, and WinStar already has Audible for the dirt race.

Other likely starters in the Pegasus Turf, according to Gulfstream publicity, include Aerolithe, Bricks and Mortar, Catapult, and Magic Wand.

Entries for both Pegasus events will be drawn Jan. 22 in the new Flamingo Room at the track.