Mucho Gusto runs away, wins $3 million Pegasus World Cup

Zulu Alpha runs down Magic Wand in $1 million Pegasus turf Kuwaiti motocross champ returns with the goal of securing another champ’ship title

HALLANDALE BEACH, Florida, Jan 26, (AP): Irad Ortiz Jr’s move paid off, and Mucho Gusto’s earnings more than doubled in a couple of minutes.

Ortiz made a last-minute decision to take the mount aboard Mucho Gusto, and picked the right time to let the 4-year-old kick into high gear Saturday in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park.

Ortiz was going to ride Spun to Run, then made the tough call about a week before the race to switch to Mucho Gusto. As it turned out, Spun to Run was scratched because of a healthrelated issue – and Mucho Gusto took the $1.8 million winners’ share of the purse.

Mucho Gusto finished the 1-1/8-mile trip around the dirt in 1:48.85. Mucho Gusto paid $8.80, $5 and $3.80. Mr Freeze returned $7.60 and $5.20, and War Story paid $6.80 to show.

Mucho Gusto’s career earnings went from about $780,000 to roughly $2.6 million. He could seriously add to that if, as expected, he makes his next start at the $20 million Saudi Cup – the world’s richest horse race – on Feb 29.

The Pegasus was a wide-open betting race, especially after the two morning-line favorites – Omaha Beach and Spun to Run – were scratched on Thursday. Omaha Beach was going to run the Pegasus as the final race of his career.

Those departures took a 12-horse field down to 10, and without a big favorite. Mucho Gusto took advantage. “So happy to win this race,” Ortiz said. It wasn’t even close at the finish: Ortiz was cruising, as the nine others were all racing for second. Ortiz guided Mucho Gusto to the outside and easily to the lead at the top of the stretch, then simply pulled away from there.

“Bob started working on that early and thank God he did,” said Jimmy Barnes, an assistant trainer for Baffert. “I’m just so happy for Irad. He did everything we needed him to do.”

The Pegasus series was run under no-race-day-medication rules, something the sport will be pivoting to broadly over the next couple of years – a change that many prominent trainers said has been overdue.

“We said, ‘Let’s point to the future,’” said Belinda Stronach, the chairman and president of The Stronach Group, which operates Gulfstream. “Let’s really create an opportunity for those horsemen and trainers that would like to run medication free and under the international standards, and really create an invitational that invites some of the best horses and trainers to be able to do so.”

In the $1 million Pegasus turf earlier Saturday, 11-1 shot Zulu Alpha emerged from an extremely tight pack by heading to the rail and running down Magic Wand – who had been leading the whole way.

Magic Wand started on the far outside and wasted no time getting to the front, and there was an enormous cluster of horses – “It was a mess,” said Luis Saez, who was aboard fifth-place finisher Arklow – not far from his heels for most of the 1-3/16-mile trip. Jockey Tyler Gaffalione guided Zulu Alpha to the inside and to what became his 10th career victory in 1:51.60.

Zulu Alpha, whose career earnings got to just about the $2 million mark with the win for trainer Mike Maker, paid $25.60, $11.40 and $7.60. Magic Wand returned $5.40 and $3.80 and Instilled Regard paid $6.60 to show.

Jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr, atop Mucho Gusto (10), competes during the Pegasus World Cup Invitational horse race on Jan 25 at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. (AP)

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 26: The return of Red Bull athlete and two-time Bahrain Motocross Champion back to compete this year at the 2020 Bahrain Motocross Championship.

The anticipated event brings professional

Kuwaiti Motocross Champion Fahad Al Musallam

racers from around the Gulf, including motorsport athletes from Kuwait, Bahrain, and from the United Arab Emirates. The event draws the attention of motocross fans everywhere, and the talent pool this year proves to be no different.

Along with being twice-crowned champion on the podium in Bahrain, of any motocross race is to complete the course which includes several obstacles and technical sections across the track. Every racer must complete as many laps as possible within the set time limit, and once that has been reached, the driver that crosses the finish line first is the winner. The event continues for two days, in order for racers to improve their times and scores. Once the event days are over, a tally is made and the champion isrevealed.

The race rewards consistency as well as athletic ability. The Bahrain Motocross Championship 2020 starts on the 31st of January, 2020, and continues until the 1st of February.

To find out more about Fahad Al Musallam and other Red Bull athletes, visit @RedBullKuwait on Instagram and Twitter, and @RedBull on Facebook, or visit www.redbull.com/athletes