Colonel Liam tops invitation list for the $1 million Pegasus Turf at Gulfstream Park
Two-time defending champion Colonel Liam and fellow Grade 1 winners Decorated Invader, Ivar, Shirl’s Speight and Speaking Scout are among a dozen horses on the first invitation list for the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) Jan. 28 at Gulfstream Park.
The 1 1⁄8-mile Pegasus Turf for 4-year-olds and up is among eight stakes, seven graded, worth $5.3 million in purses co-headlined by the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) presented by Baccarat and
$500,000 Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf Invitational (G3).
Robert and Lawana Low’s Colonel Liam, trained by Hall of Famer
Todd Pletcher, returned from nine months between starts to run sixth in the Dec. 31 Fort Lauderdale (G2) at Gulfstream in his Pegasus prep. The 6-year-old son of Liam’s Map was a neck winner over Largent in the 2021 Pegasus and beat another of his stablemates, Never Surprised, by a length in last year’s edition.
Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners’ Speaking Scout is coming off a threequarter-length victory in the 1 1⁄8-mile Hollywood Derby (G1) Dec. 3 at Del Mar, his second stakes triumph and first in graded company. The 4-year-old Mr Speaker gelding was a five-length winner of the 1 1⁄8-mile Hawthorne Derby Oct. 1 and ran second by a halflength to fellow Pegasus invitee Cabo Spirit in the Oct. 29 Twilight Derby (G2) at Santa Anita.
Charles Fipke’s Shirl’s Speight is a multiple graded-stakes winner that went over the $1 million mark in purse earnings
with his runner-up finish in the Nov. 5 Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) at Keeneland. The 6-year-old son of Speightstown, trained by Hall of Famer Roger Attfield, rallied for a nose victory in the Maker’s Mark Mile (G1) last April.
Fourth in the 2022 Breeders’ Cup Mile, beaten a length, was Bonne Chance Farm and Stud R D I’s Ivar, a Brazilian-bred 7-year-old that won a pair of Group 1 races in Argentina before coming to the U.S. He won the 2020 Shadwell Turf Mile (G1) at Keeneland in his fourth domestic start and also ran second in the 2022 Turf Mile at Keeneland and Woodbine Mile (G1).
HUDSON NAMED U.S. MEN’S INTERIM COACH
Anthony Hudson will coach the United States men’s soccer team rather than Gregg Berhalter ahead of the first two matches of the cycle leading to the 2026 World Cup.
The U.S. Soccer Federation announced Tuesday
it was investigating Berhalter for a 1991 domestic violence incident involving the woman who became his wife.
Hudson will lead the team ahead of exhibitions against Serbia on Jan. 25 at Los Angeles and Colombia three days later at Carson, California, USSF sporting director Earnie Stewart said Wednesday.
The USSF said its assessment of the 2018-22 cycle and the investigation of Berhalter are ongoing. The federation said it learned of the allegation against Berhalter on Dec. 11 and hired the law firm Alston & Bird to investigate.
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With two classic center forward’s finishes, Harry Kane showed he is not suffering any lasting effects from his World Cup disappointment with England. It’s now three goals in three Premier League games for Tottenham since returning from Qatar after his double in a 4-0 win over Crystal Palace on Wednesday. Kane has had
European Soccer:
to shoulder the burden of missing a late penalty in England’s 2-1 loss to France in the quarterfinals on Dec. 10. The win over Palace moved fifth-place Tottenham five points clear of sixth-place Liverpool, and two points behind both Newcastle and Manchester United, which are in third and fourth, respectively. … Barcelona struggled to advance in its Copa del Rey debut, needing extra time to defeat third-division club Intercity 4-3. Ansu Fati
scored the winning goal for Barcelona in the 104th minute after the Catalan club relinquished a lead three times in the 3-3 draw in regulation. Oriol Solde
scored a hat trick for the hosts in the city of Alicante in southeastern Spain. Marcos Llorente
and teenager Pablo Barrios scored a goal in each half as Atlético Madrid eliminated second-division Oviedo 2-0. … Napoli was handed its first domestic defeat of the season as the Italian league resumed after a 7 ½-week break. Edin Džeko scored near the hour mark, goalkeeper André Onana
made a big save in the 90th and Inter Milan beat Napoli 1-0 at the San Siro to reopen the race for the Serie A title.
Tennis: Frances Tiafoe
● beat Britain’s Daniel Evans 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 to move the United States into the United Cup mixed teams tournament semifinals at Sydney. Tiafoe’s victory gave the Americans an unbeatable 3-1 lead in the best-of-5 Sydney City Final. It means the U.S. will be among four teams in the semifinal portion of the tournament that begins Friday. Earlier, world No. 3 Jessica Pegula gave the United States a 2-1 lead by beating Britain’s
Dart 6-2, 6-0.