Hit the Road works five furlongs in Pegasus World Cup Turf prep
ARCADIA, Calif. - Hit the Road, the winner of the Grade 1 Frank Kilroe Mile last March, zoomed five furlongs on turf in 58.42 seconds before the first race on Sunday in a workout for the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 29.
Ridden by jockey Umberto Rispoli, Hit the Road was timed in 36.14 seconds for the first three furlongs, and the final quarter-mile in a sharp 22.28 seconds. Rispoli urged Hit the Road through the final furlong.
Hit the Road has not raced since a troubled third in the Grade 2 City of Hope Mile on Oct. 2. Hit the Road was scratched from the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Del Mar on Nov. 6 because of illness and missed a start in the Grade 3 San Gabriel Stakes at 1 1/8 miles at Santa Anita on Dec. 26 when the race was switched from turf to dirt because of rain.
Trainer Dan Blacker said he wanted a sharp workout from the 5-year-old Hit the Road and instructed Rispoli to be on the aggressive side.
“He hasn’t run since October,” Blacker said. “I said, ‘Let him work today.’ ”
Blacker said Hit the Road will have another workout at Santa Anita before a scheduled departure on Jan. 25.
“Everything has to go perfect to be confident to put him on the plane,” Blacker said.
The $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf is run at 1 1/8 miles.
The Grade 3 Pegasus Filly and Mare Turf Invitational at 1 1/16 miles is part of the same Jan. 29 program and could draw Bodhicitta, who worked a half-mile in 47.11 seconds on turf on Sunday.
Ridden by jockey Jose Valdivia Jr., Bodhicitta worked a furlong in front of Hit the Road, and ran the opening quarter-mile in 24.17 seconds.
Trained by Richard Baltas, Bodhicitta was second to stablemate Luck in the Grade 3 Robert Frankel Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on turf at Santa Anita on Jan. 1. Bodhicitta, 6, is winless in seven starts since the Grade 2 Yellow Ribbon Stakes at Del Mar in August 2020.