The fourth annual 2020 Pegasus World Cup will be held on Saturday, January 25, 2020, at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. We have complete coverage including odds to win and best bet recommendations.
The most prestigious and lucrative race in the state of Florida is coming this Saturday, January 25, 2020, when the fourth running of the Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) goes off as the highlight of a major day of racing. The 1 1/8-mile dirt contest that is worth $3 million will be held at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida, and features some of the best horses in training.
The card also carries the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1), which always features a diverse group of contenders from both North America and the international ranks. The Pegasus World Cup 2020 contenders and Pegasus World Cup odds, as well as best bet recommendations for both races, can be found here.
It is rare when a Grade 1-winning champion enters a major event flying under the radar, but that is precisely what appears to be happening with Higher Power. Though he is currently based in southern California, where he is owned by Hronis Racing and trained by John Sadler, that was not always the case.
Higher Power originally campaigned in the southern circuit for trainer Michael Stidham and owner/breeder Pin Oak Stud. Still, they placed him in the Keeneland April 2019 auction, where Hronis Racing purchased the 5-year-old son of Medaglia d’Oro for $250,000.
The idea was that his breeding (being out of a mare by 1977 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew) was too valuable as a potential stallion. He later rewarded his new connections by winning the Pacific Classic Stakes (G1) at Del Mar on August 17, 2019, before ending the year finishing third in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) at Santa Anita Park.
Fox Hill Farms’ Omaha Beach will be the deserving favorite after winning four graded stakes this year, three at the Grade 1 level, and distances ranging from 6 furlongs to 1 1/8 miles. He has had a tumultuous season, having scratched from the Kentucky Derby (G1) due to a throat issue despite being favored. Trainer Richard Mandella masterfully guided the son of War Front back to health, and he won the Santa Anita Sprint Championship (G1) in October, but he lost the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) to 9-1 shot Spun to Run.
Spun to Run, a four-time winner in Pennsylvania before surprising in the Breeders’ Cup, most recently lost the Cigar Mile Handicap (G1) to Maximum Security, who will likely be named the American 3-year-old champion horse. Spun to Run also loses his rider, as pilot Irad Ortiz, Jr. switches to Mucho Gusto.
The Bob Baffert-trained Mucho Gusto won a pair of Grade 3 events at Santa Anita Park and ran second in the Haskell Invitational (G1) behind Maximum Security. He has not won since June of last year, but he has been working well for this race.
Tax took the 2019 Kentucky Derby trail by surprise, thanks to shrewd efforts from trainer Danny Gargan. Tax was claimed for $50,000 from owner/breeders Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider, then won the Withers Stakes (G3) and was second in the Wood Memorial Stakes (G2) before finishing 14th in the Kentucky Derby and fourth in the Belmont Stakes (G1).
He also won the Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) at Saratoga and was most recently second in the Discovery Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct.
Other expected contenders are Math Wizard, Bodexpress, Seeking the Soul, Diamond Oops, Mr Freeze, Tenfold, and True Timber.
Because Omaha Beach is a deserving favorite, he has little value on even the best online racebooks, so handicappers and bettors interested in turning a profit on the Pegasus World Cup should look elsewhere. Here are some best bet recommendations, including the odds to win the Pegasus World Cup courtesy of Bovada:
Internationally-feared trainer Aidan O’Brien is bringing his top filly Magic Wand to contend the Pegasus World Cup Turf. She was second in this race last year behind Bricks and Mortar, who is expected to be named America’s 2019 Horse of the Year following an undefeated season that saw him win five Grade 1 events, including the Breeders’ Cup Turf.
Owner/breeder John Gunther, who also bred the 2018 American Triple Crown champion Justify, campaigned the 5-year-old Without Parole in the horse’s native Great Britain until the summer of 2019 when he was sent west to the stable of top American turf trainer Chad Brown. Without Parole’s first start, coming in a 168-day layoff, was an impressive third in the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) behind fellow Brown runner Uni. Expect Without Parole to improve in his second start stateside.
Together, they will face a full field expected to include Admission Office, Arklow, Channel CatHenley’s Joy, Instilled Regard, Mo Forza, Next Shares, Sacred Life, Sadler’s Joy, and Zulu Alpha.
Here are some best bet recommendations, including the odds to win the Pegasus World Cup Turf courtesy of Bovada:
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