Cyberknife tries to match his sire by winning Pegasus World Cup
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Like father, like son.
At least that’s what trainer Brad Cox will be hoping Saturday, when Cyberknife tries to make his old man proud by closing out his racing career the same way his sire, Gun Runner, did five years ago – with a victory in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational.
The $3 million Pegasus World Cup will bring the curtain down on a spectacular 13-race program Saturday at Gulfstream Park that also includes the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational Turf and $500,000 Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf. They are the final three of seven consecutive stakes or handicap races, six of them graded, on a card that begins at 10:50.
All three Pegasus World Cup events will be broadcast on NBC from 4:30-6 p.m.
Gun Runner came into the 1 1/8-mile Pegasus World Cup, then valued at $16 million, with far more imposing credentials than Cyberknife, having won five of his six starts including four Grade 1 races the previous season, capped off by his relatively easy victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
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Cyberknife enters his career finale off a 3-year-old campaign during which he won four of nine starts, including both the Grade 1 Haskell and Arkansas Derby. He was also second in both the Grade 1 Travers and Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. Cyberknife, who is owned by Al Gold’s Gold Square LLC, is scheduled to stand stud at Spendthrift Farm.
“It’s going to be tough, obviously, to see him go after this race,” said Cox, who is back in the spotlight in the Pegasus World Cup for a third straight winter after sending out Knicks Go to win the race in 2021 and finish second to Life Is Good a year ago. “I’d love to keep him in training all year and I think he’d have a fantastic year based on the way he’s training right now. But at the same time I’m happy for him to be getting this opportunity.”
Looking back on Cyberknife’s outstanding 3-year-old campaign, Cox singled out his colt’s hard-fought victory over Taiba and Jack Christopher in the Haskell as the most memorable moment of the year.
“It was a very, very good group of horses and super exciting the way the race unfolded that day,” Cox recalled. “And the fact my owner is from New Jersey, winning a race like that at Monmouth Park made it all the more special for all of us.”
Cyberknife will break from post 10 under regular rider Florent Geroux on Saturday, not the best of starting positions in races run at nine furlongs at Gulfstream. It’s the same post Gun Runner won from in 2018.
“I’ve always said post position can be a touch overrated,” said Cox. “I’m more interested in where they finish than where they begin. He’s been training as good right now as he has at any time in his career and I’m looking forward to him going out a winner, just like his father did, on Saturday.”
Proxy has never been better, having finishing a troubled third in the Grade 2 Stephen Foster before winning the Grade 1 Clark in his 2022 finale. He drew the rail, which may or may not be to his advantage on Saturday. Joel Rosario rode Proxy in the Foster and the Clark, and rides again on Saturday.
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“He got out of position, dropped way back, but Joel said he really kicked in and gave him a good run late in the Foster,” said trainer Michael Stidham. “And when he won the Clark, that was the race we really needed to see from him. Having the rail allows you to save ground and be forwardly placed, which is important at Gulfstream, but with a lot of speed outside him, he can get banged around and lose position, too. Where you come out of that first turn is key to this race, and that’s where having a rider like Joel comes into play.”
Defunded is also in peak form, having won the Grade 1 Awesome Again at Santa Anita and Grade 3 Native Diver at Del Mar in his last two starts. Defunded was on the lead or with the leaders in both races and figures to be forwardly placed again in his local debut.
“The break is going to be important for him,” said trainer Bob Baffert, who won the inaugural running of this race with Arrogate in 2017 and again three years later with Mucho Gusto. “I think he’s improved. It’s a pretty evenly matched field. Cyberknife is the horse to beat. A lot of it is who gets the trip. I think this horse is as good as Mucho Gusto. I wouldn’t send him if I didn’t think he could win.”
Art Collector is the richest member of the field, having banked $2.33 million in 20 career starts, $300,000 more than Cyberknife. A big chunk of those earnings are from his back-to-back victories in the Grade 2 Charles Town Classic in 2021 and 2022. His most important win, however, came during the fall of 2021, when he led throughout to capture the Grade 1 Woodward at Belmont.
The local contingent is led by the Saffie Joseph-trained trio of White Abarrio, Skippylongstocking, and O’Connor. White Abarrio is the lone Grade 1 winner of the three, having rallied to a 1 1/4-length decision here last spring in the Florida Derby. White Abarrio has trained extremely well since his third-place finish in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile on Dec. 3.
Skippylongstocking and O’Connor finished first and fourth in the Grade 3 Harlan’s Holiday four weeks earlier. Skippylongstocking ran arguably the best race of his career that day, and O’Connor was a major disappointment to Joseph as the 6-5 favorite in his second U.S. appearance.
Simplification finished third, 2 1/4 lengths behind Skippylongstocking in the Harlan’s Holiday and is coming off his best work since just prior to his fourth-place finish in the 2022 Kentucky Derby – five furlongs in 1:00.20 with a monster gallop-out on Jan. 21.
– additional reporting by Steve Andersen
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