Fear the Cowboy takes slot in Pegasus World Cup

Fear the Cowboy, a 6-year-old horse who won two Grade 3 stakes races at Gulfstream Park last year, is being pointed to the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup as a starter in the slot co-owned by Gulfstream owner Frank Stronach, the track announced on Wednesday.

Fear the Cowboy, who has never run in a Grade 1 stakes, is the 11th horse to be named as a potential starter in the Jan. 27 Pegasus, which is limited to 12 entries. The owners of the horse, Raffaele Centofanti and Kathleen Amaya, recently struck a deal to start the horse in the slot that Stronach and the brothers Ronald and Jerry Frankel own for the race, according to the track.

“I know this is a big challenge, but our horse is in the peak form of his career,” said Efren Loza Jr., the trainer of the horse. “He’s a horse who when you put him in with good competition he will work hard.”

The first five finishers in last year’s Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic are all pointing for the Pegasus, which has a listed purse of $16 million (every horse that starts in the race is guaranteed to receive at least $650,000 in purse earnings). Gun Runner, the winner of the Classic, is expected to be heavily favored in the race.

Only one slot in the Pegasus remains unfilled. The slot is owned by The Stronach Group, the company controlled by Frank Stronach that owns Gulfstream Park and administers the Pegasus World Cup. A number of horses are being considered for the slot, according to officials for the company.

Fear the Cowboy has a record of nine wins from 27 starts, with earnings of $570,869. In his last start, he won the Dec. 16 Harlan’s Holiday Stakes at Gulfstream by 2 1/4 lengths.

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