Dazzling work by Sharp Azteca has Navarro thinking Pegasus

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Jorge Navarro said that up until 7:30 on Sunday morning, he really didn’t want to run Sharp Azteca in the $16 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational. But that all changed in less than two minutes, the time it took Sharp Azteca to work five furlongs in 59 seconds and gallop out like a freight train over his home base at Gulfstream Park West.

“That work was amazing,” said Navarro, who trains Sharp Azteca for owner Ivan Rodriguez. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him work that good. Usually, no matter what you do with good horses, they’ll give you eight or nine good months and then they’ll start to decline, to tail off. Instead, he just keeps getting better and better.”

Sharp Azteca is coming off arguably the best race of his career, a 5 1/4-length victory in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile on Dec. 2, for which he received a 115 Beyer Speed Figure. That effort came on the heels of a heartbreaking second-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, when he dropped a half-length decision to Battle of Midway after contesting all the pace while racing against the grain of the racetrack at Del Mar that day.

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Sharp Azteca would be a key player and the likely pacesetter in the Pegasus World Cup, although his starting status remains up in the air as his owner continues to shop around for either a buyer or the right deal from one of the slot holders for the race. If he does start, Sharp Azteca would likely go postward as second choice behind the odds-on Gun Runner.

“I told the owner today that I really need to know something,” said Navarro. “I need to know if we’re going to run, and I need to know who is going to ride him. We’ve only got three weeks left and I need to get a rider on him.

“But the one thing I did say to the owner this morning after that work was, ‘If you do go in the race, you’ve got a winner.’”

Javier Castellano, who rode Sharp Azteca in the Cigar Mile, was likely to be aboard West Coast in the Pegasus, Navarro said. Paco Lopez was aboard for Sharp Azteca’s wins in the Grade 2 Kelso and Grade 3 Monmouth Cup, as well as in the Breeders’ Cup. Edgard Zayas was the horse’s regular rider earlier in his career.

Navarro has already confirmed War Story as a definite starter in Pegasus. War Story, who breezed five-eighths in 1:01.20 at Gulfstream Park West on Sunday, has not started since his fifth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

“Just something to keep him happy,” said Navarro. “I don’t go hard on him because he has his issues. He’ll have a harder work next week.”

As of Monday, only eight horses appear confirmed for Pegasus, led by Gun Runner who worked a solid six furlongs in 1:10.60 at Fair Grounds on Sunday. Aside from War Story, the others are West Coast, Collected, Seeking the Soul, Toast of New York, Gunnevera, and Great Expectations.

Stellar Wind is also under serious consideration, and continued on her regular work schedule with a four-furlong breeze in 48.80 at Palm Meadows on Sunday.

The status of Singing Bullet remained uncertain following his fourth-place finish following an eventful trip in a first-level allowance race here last Friday. Singing Bullet is owned by track owner Frank Stronach.

“It’s going to be up to the Stronach people whether he runs in Pegasus or not, although as far as I’m concerned that last race just doesn’t count,” said trainer Dale Romans. “Throw a line through it – he had no chance. We’ll just have to wait and see what they want to do.”