Cross Border, Aquaphobia stoke hopes for Maker repeat in Pegasus World Cup Turf
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Zulu Alpha was something of an outsider last January in winning the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf at 11-1, so Mike Maker is hoping history can repeat itself when the $1 million race is run Saturday at Gulfstream Park for the third time.
Maker will send out the pair of Cross Border and Aquaphobia in the 1 3/16-mile Pegasus Turf, which is expected to get a capacity field of 12 when entries are drawn here Wednesday. Both figure to be similar odds as Zulu Alpha was last year.
“I think they’re both very live,” said Maker. “Cross Border is an old warhorse who ought to appreciate the distance and the firm going. Pretty much the same for Aquaphobia. I’d love to win it again.”
Cross Border, a 7-year-old ridgling owned by the Three Diamonds Farm of Kirk Wycoff, won two stakes last year, most notably the Grade 2 Bowling Green at Saratoga via disqualification. Aquaphobia also won two stakes in 2020, led by the Grade 1 United Nations at Monmouth Park. The 8-year-old horse is an 11th-hour substitution into the Pegasus Turf lineup in favor of stablemate Field Pass.
Meanwhile, Zulu Alpha continues to recover from a minor ankle injury and will rejoin Maker’s Gulfstream string in mid-February, said the trainer. The 8-year-old gelding is a finalist in the older turf-horse category at the 2020 Eclipse Awards, to be held as a virtual event Jan. 28.
Favoritism in the Pegasus Turf sure seems up for grabs – just as it was last year, when the public choice, Without Parole, was a lukewarm $3.40-1. Anothertwistafate and Say the Word, among the four Pegasus Turf runners who were scheduled to arrive here Tuesday on an equine charter flight from Southern California following a stopover in New Orleans, are in the mix, along with Colonel Liam and Largent.
The other California invaders are Next Shares and Storm the Court. Colonel Liam and Largent are among three representing the Todd Pletcher stable, along with Social Paranoia. Rounding out the lineup are the Shug McGaughey duo of Breaking the Rules and North Dakota, along with Pixelate, trained by Mike Stidham. None of the 12 figures as a huge longshot.
Most of the Pegasus Turf starters were sent through their final pre-race workouts over the weekend, including Cross Border and Aquaphobia, both of whom breezed five furlongs Sunday in an identical 1:01 over the Gulfstream main track.