Filly Warm Heart beats the boys in Pegasus World Cup Turf

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - The filly Warm Heart capped a brilliant and perhaps all too brief career Saturday with a rail-skimming ride under Ryan Moore to beat 11 males and win the Grade 1, $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf by a half-length at Gulfstream Park.

I’m Very Busy, who was saving ground down the backside, had to rally wide in the stretch under Irad Ortiz Jr. and got second by a neck over 46-1 longshot Catnip. It was a length back to Atone, last year’s Pegasus World Cup Turf winner, in fourth, who was a head better than 6-5 favorite Integration.

Webslinger, who got stymied in the stretch, finished sixth and was followed Kingmax, Shirl’s Speight, Jerry the Nipper, Adhamo, Main Event and Master Piece. The also-eligibles Grand Sonata and Anglophile scratched.

The victory was the sixth from 11 starts for Warm Heart, her third in a Group or Grade 1 event. The 4-year-old daughter of Galileo owned by the Coolmore connections of Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith and Susan Magnier, retires with $2,194,993 in career earnings and will be retired and bred to Justify later this winter.

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“We’re absolutely delighted,” trainer Aidan O’Brien told Gulfstream Park publicity. “It’s incredible. Ryan obviously gave her an incredible ride and everybody has done such an incredible job. We’re just so delighted for everyone and for her to go off now to Justify is just so exciting. She’s absolutely made for him.”

Warm Heart, who finished a neck behind Inspiral in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Santa Anita in November, was coming out of a third-place finish in the Group 1 Hong Kong Vase, a December race that had a tepid pace.

On Saturday the pace was swift, established by Main Event, who went a half-mile in 46.86 seconds and six furlongs in 1:09.55 while being chased by Jerry the Nipper. Warm Heart was only two lengths off the pace.

Coming to the top of the lane, Moore had plenty of horse and was just looking for running room. He felt that room would open along the rail.

“The leader, he was always laying out and he was weakening,” Moore said. “I knew I had plenty of horse, no problem.”

Warm Heart exploded through the opening and held off the late run by I’m Very Busy.

Warm Heart (100 Beyer Speed Figure) covered the 1 1/8 miles over firm turf in 1:44.45, eclipsing the course record of 1:44.51 set by English Channel in 2007.

“She’s very classy and very hardy, loves the fast ground, fast track,” O’Brien said. “She’s incredible. We’d love to have her and to be racing her, but the lads’ business is breeding these horses.”

I’m Very Busy, second to Integration in the Grade 2 Hill Prince at Aqueduct in November, was following Integration down the backside Saturday.

Ortiz had to swing I’m Very Busy wide turning for home and though he did come with a late run, it was not in time.

“Good run,” Chad Brown, trainer of I’m Very Busy, said. “He was following the right horse, following Integration the whole way. I liked the setup, I just wish Integration would have moved sooner. It didn’t seem like he had much horse today.”

Integration, a winner of his three previous starts, was sent off the 6-5 favorite. Under Tyler Gaffalione, he was sitting fifth down the backside but was beaten to a hole at the top of the lane by Catnip.

“The winner went inside, I started to tip out and just didn’t get the spot that I needed,” Gaffalione said. “It closed before I got there and got stuck. We had plenty of horse, I couldn’t get to the spot on time.”

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