Favorite Gun Runner draws No. 10 post One name expected to dominate at Eclipse Awards

For the second consecutive year, the favorite will start from an outside position Saturday in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational.

Gun Runner was installed as a strong 4-5 morning line favorite Wednesday after the draw for post positions for the $16 million race at Gulfstream Park.

The winner of four consecutive starts, including his most recent race in the Breeders’ Cup Classic in November, drew the No. 10 post in the 12-horse field.

In last year’s inaugural Pegasus, two-time Horse of the Year California Chrome started from the No. 12 post and was never a factor in the race as he finished ninth, an inexplicable 29½ lengths behind Arrogate.

“I’ve always said you don’t know to complain about a post position until after a race is run,” Gun Runner’s trainer Steve Asmussen said. “It might work out perfectly for him.

“Let him run his race and see where he ends up with it.”

Gun Runner, expected to be the overwhelming choice as Horse of the Year when the Eclipse Awards are announced tonight at Gulfstream Park, will retire to stud after Saturday’s race.

Asmussen and jockey Florent Geroux are aiming for a grand finale winner’s purse of $7 million.

The Pegasus World Cup, conceived by Gulfstream owner Frank Stronach, offers the largest total purse for a horse race in the world, topping the $10 million in the Dubai World Cup.

The Pegasus is run on the dirt over 1 miles, which in Gulfstream’s configuration presents a difficult challenge for horses starting from outside positions. It is a very short run up to the first turn and horses on the outside are susceptible to losing ground that can be difficult and taxing to overcome.

Singing Bullet, who on Tuesday became the last of the 12 contenders named to the field, will start in the No. 1 position. The 4-year-old will be campaigned by Stronach’s stable. He is one of the longest shots at 30-1.

Sharp Azteca, trained by Jorge Navarro, is the second choice at 6-1. Bob Baffert’s dual contenders Collected and West Coast, second and third respectively to Gun Runner in the Breeders’ Cup, are both listed at 8-1.

South Florida-based Gunnevera, ridden by Gulfstream Park’s leading jockey Luis Saez and trained by Antonio Sano, is a long shot at 15-1.

Sharp Azteca, coming off an impressive 5 victory in the Cigar Mile Handicap at Aqueduct on Dec. 2, brings an impressive speed element to the race. The 5-year-old also won the Grade 2 Hardacre Mile last year at Gulfstream. But he has never raced at 1 miles.

He will have a shorter break to the first turn starting from the No. 4 spot than Gun Runner, who won the Breeders’ Cup Classic as a front-runner.

“It’s going to be a real rider’s race going into that first turn. That’s going to be the whole thing,” said Ron Paolucci, campaigning Sharp Azteca through a deal with owner Ivan Rodriguez (not the former Marlins catcher).

“He hasn’t won here, and the outside isn’t good. But we get to run Gun Runner. So we’re OK,” Asmussen said. “He’s been overcoming things his whole life.”

One factor to keep an eye on is the weather. The only two times that Gun Runner failed to finish in the top three were on sloppy tracks. The forecast for Saturday is cloudy and windy with a 20 percent chance of rain.

Here is the field for the Pegasus, from the rail out: Singing Bullet, 30-1; West Coast, 8-1; Stellar Wind, 30-1; Sharp Azteca, 6-1; Collected, 8-1; Gunnevera, 15-1; Fear the Cowboy, 30-1; War Story, 25-1; Toast of New York, 20-1; Gun Runner, 4-5; Seeking the Soul, 25-1; Giant Expectations, 30-1.

The Pegasus is scheduled to go off at 5:40 p.m., the final of eight stakes races on the program Saturday beginning at 11:30 a.m. Tickets are available, starting at $75 for general admission, at pegasusworldcup.com

HALLANDALE BEACH — Gun Runner’s farewell victory tour is expected to get off to a triumphant start today as Gulfstream Park hosts the annual Eclipse Awards for the sixth consecutive year.

For the previous five, the ceremonies were held on a Saturday. Gulfstream and the Eclipse group decided it was more prudent to schedule the black-tie affair closer to Saturday’s Pegasus World Cup, since several of the out-of-town participants are also Eclipse candidates.

Gun Runner, who made the Breeder’ Cup Classic his fifth win from six 2017 starts, is considered a certainty to capture the biggest prize, Horse of the Year, as well as the statue as the nation’s outstanding older dirt horse. Saturday, he will make the final start of his career in the Pegasus, where he has been rated the odds-on 4-5 favorite on the morning line.

Many of the categories have equally solid favorites. Forever Unbridled, undefeated in three stakes capped by the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, is the overwhelming choice to be named top older female dirt horse.

Other 2017 Breeders’ Cup winners favored to add an Eclipse to their trophy case include male sprinter Roy H, 2-year-old filly Caledonia Road and male turf runner World Approval, also a Horse of the Year finalist.

West Coast, third in the Breeders’ Cup Classic for the best finish by a 3-year-old, is expected to be voted the champion male of his generation over Florida Derby and Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming. Abel Tasman, second in the BC Distaff to the older Forever Unbridled, is a strong favorite to be named best 3-year-old filly.

Lady Eli is the sentimental favorite to be named outstanding female turf runner, despite a seventh-place finish in which she encountered significant trouble at the Breeders’ Cup.

Unique Bella also had a disappointing seventhplace showing at the Breeders Cup but is considered the front-runner for the female sprint title off her 5-for-5 record in other races. She also is a finalist as best 3-year-old filly.

The most competitive category is 2-year-old male. Good Magic, who is preparing for the Triple Crown in South Florida, took the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile but it was his only win in three starts. California-based Bolt d’Oro finished a tough trip third in that race but had three wins, including a pair of Grade 1 stakes, going into the Breeders’ Cup.

Chad Brown is expected to be honored as the nation’s leading trainer for the second consecutive year, and Javier Castellano is a finalist to capture his fifth Eclipse as outstanding jockey in a field that also includes Jose Ortiz and Mike Smith.