Gunnevera targets Dubai World Cup

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Antonio Sano said he is undeterred by the sixth-place finish by Gunnevera in the Pegasus World Cup last Saturday and that the March 30 Dubai World Cup will be next for the 5-year-old horse.

Gunnevera had a spot of traffic trouble around the three-eighths pole but otherwise had no excuses when finishing 13 lengths behind City of Light.

Meanwhile, Kukulkan, a distant 11th in the Pegasus, will remain at Gulfstream for the time being. Trainer Fausto Gutierrez told track officials he will look for an allowance race or something similar for the Mexican Triple Crown winner.

◗ Pay Any Price, scratched Saturday from the Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint when the five-furlong race was moved to the main track, could make his next start here March 9 in the Silks Run, although co-owner Richard Averill would prefer a race in between.

“We’re hoping to get a suitable race for him in the meantime, although I don’t know if any will go,” he said.

Pay Any Price, a 9-year-old gelding, has won 15 of 25 career starts and set a world record for five furlongs on turf (53.61 seconds) in 2017 at Gulfstream.

◗ In the run-up to the Pegasus Turf last weekend, Hi Happy was mentioned as a possible starter to help fill a field that topped out at 10, but that speculation ended when it was revealed that the 7-year-old Argentine-bred horse has been retired.

The winner of the Grade 2 Pan American and Grade 1 Man o’ War last year for trainer Todd Pletcher, Hi Happy left his Palm Beach Downs base Monday to return to Argentina and begin stud duty. He earned more than $1.3 million in a 19-race career.