Early pace key in question-filled running of Pegasus Filly and Mare Turf

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – How the pace unfolds in the Knicks Go versus Life Is Good showdown is on the mind of every serious horseplayer Saturday. But how about a little preview in the first Pegasus World Cup race of the afternoon at Gulfstream Park, the $500,000 Filly and Mare Turf?

Will Shifty She be able to comfortably clear off from post 9 in the field of 11? To what extent will Lady Speightspeare or Regal Glory pressure her, and at what point will Sweet Melania bid into the fray?

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As with many races, the end of the inaugural Filly and Mare Turf might well be largely determined by its beginning. A wicked pace involving Shifty She and the others could result in their demise, setting the table for the likes of a capable back runner such as Nicest or Summer in Saratoga.

Or, a less-hectic tempo could allow Shifty She and jockey Edwin Gonzalez to breeze to the front and never look back.

“You never know how things are going to develop,” said Chris Pallas, the proud co-breeder and co-owner of Shifty She, a modestly bred 6-year-old making the most important start in a stop-and-start career. “But there’s no doubt our horse has a high turn of speed, and hopefully it’s put to maximum use.”

Shifty She has won three of her last six starts, all stakes, when climbing the class ladder for Saffie Joseph Jr., the leading trainer at the championship meet. The Florida-bred daughter of Gone Astray is the 6-1 co-third choice with the Irish-bred Nicest in this 1 1/16-mile race.

Regal Glory (post 4, Jose Ortiz) is the 2-1 morning-line favorite, partly on the strength of back-to-back triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures earned in her last two starts of 2021, ending with a dominant score in the Nov. 28 Matriarch at Del Mar.

Trained by Chad Brown, Regal Glory went gate to wire in the Matriarch in a Grade 1 turf race noticeably lacking in early speed. Otherwise, the 6-year-old Animal Kingdom mare tends to wait a few lengths off the lead, settling into a steady rhythm before moving along.

The stalking style she more often employs is similar to that of Sweet Melania (post 1, Luis Saez), the Todd Pletcher-trained 5-year-old who snapped a seven-race losing streak when she reeled in Shifty She six weeks ago to capture the Grade 3 Suwannee River over the Gulfstream turf. Sweet Melania, the 5-1 second choice, is back atop her game, said Pletcher.

“I thought her last race was one of her best, and I think she’s actually coming into this one even better,” Pletcher said. “This will be a more demanding race, but she’s training like she’s made a move forward since the last one. Hopefully she can step up.”

Nicest (post 7, Tyler Gaffalione) looks like a genuine sleeper after being flown in early this week from California for trainer Michael McCarthy. Although still eligible for first-level allowances, the 4-year-old filly has been on a steady improve since being imported from the United Kingdom and could be sitting on a career best, especially if the others go too fast too early.

“She’s been training very well out here,” said McCarthy. “I know she’s facing multiple stakes winners and everything, but I do feel like she can measure up.”

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Summer in Saratoga (post 8, Corey Lanerie) is a left-field closer who would stand to benefit most from chaos up front. A seven-time winner from 17 starts, she was scratched last week from the $100,000 Marie Krantz to ship over from New Orleans for this instead.

Completing the lineup are longshots Wakanaka, Gift List, Alms, In a Hurry, and Bipartisanship. Of those, maybe Bipartisanship rates the best chance to light up the tote following a breakthrough score here last month in the Tropical Oaks for Graham Motion.

The Filly and Mare Turf is a brand-new addition to the popular Pegasus World Cup program. The race was able to retain a Grade 3 ranking by displacing the Marshua’s River on the Gulfstream stakes schedule.

The Filly and Mare Turf goes as the ninth of 12 races, with post time set for 3:36 p.m. Eastern. It is scheduled to be shown on tape delay on the NBC broadcast (4:30-6) when leading off a 50-cent late pick four (races 9-12) that ends with the epic matchup of Knicks Go and Life Is Good in the $3 million Pegasus.