Gunnevera looking at spring or summer comeback

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – After participating in the last two renewals of the Pegasus World Cup with Gunnevera, trainer Antonio Sono admitted it was a bit of a strange feeling to attend Wednesday’s post position draw for Saturday’s event without a horse in the race.

Gunnevera has not started since his third-place finish behind Thunder Snow in the 2019 Dubai World Cup. Plagued by nagging issues throughout his career, Gunnevera recently returned to training with Sano at Gulfstream Park West. But he’s still likely months away from a race.

“He’s just jogging at the moment,” said Sano. “He’s scheduled to start galloping next week. We are not going to be in any rush with him. If things go well, we’d like to bring him back in a race here at Gulfstream in late April, maybe May, and then take him up to Saratoga for the summer.”

Gunnevera finished a distant third behind Gun Runner in the 2018 Pegasus World Cup and sixth last year over a sloppy track. He was beaten less than three lengths in the Dubai World Cup by Thunder Snow, who was winning the race for the second straight year. Now 6, Gunnevera has earned over $5.5 million during a career that includes second-place finishes in such prestigious races as the Travers, Woodward, and 2018 Breeders’ Cup Classic.

“It would have been nice to have been able to run him in the Pegasus again this year, especially since the field isn’t nearly as strong as it was the last two seasons,” said Sano. “But like I said, he’s been too good to us to have tried to push him along just to make this race.”