Maker enjoys big day with Pegasus Turf win and McKnight sweep
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The winners of the two Pegasus turf races on Saturday at Gulfstream Park both came out of their races in good order as their connections consider what might come next for their horses.
Atone, who snatched victory from Ivar with a relentless surge in the final 100 yards of the Grade 1 Pegasus Turf, was feeling good Sunday morning, according to trainer Mike Maker. A couple of logical goals the first half of this year for the 6-year-old Into Mischief gelding would be the Maker’s Mark Mile at Keeneland and the Turf Classic at Churchill Downs, but Maker said he hadn’t had time to confirm plans with Kirk and Jordan Wycoff, the principals in owner Three Diamonds Farm.
Atone, ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., was assigned a 103 Beyer Speed Figure after getting the 1 1/8-mile distance in 1:46.19.
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It was a spectacular afternoon for Maker, who not only won the Pegasus Turf for the second time in its five runnings – having won with Zulu Alpha in 2020 – but also sent out the 1-2-3-5 finishers in the Grade 3 W. L. McKnight at 1 1/2 miles on turf. Red Knight, a 9-year-old New York-bred gelding, won with Ortiz up, with Value Engineering second, Wicked Fast third, and Temple fifth. Maker also won the Grade 3 Fred Hooper with Endorsed, who was ridden by Luis Saez in earning a 96 Beyer.
Red Knight, and perhaps some of those others, likely goes next in the Grade 2 Pan American on the Florida Derby card here April 1. Meanwhile, Personal Best, who was ridden by Ortiz in winning the Grade 3 La Prevoyante, a filly-mare turf race going 1 1/2 miles, likely runs back the same day in the Grade 3 Orchid, according to trainer Shug McGaughey.
The Pegasus Turf runner-up, Ivar, “ran so good, it was very tough to see him lose,” trainer Paulo Lobo said Sunday morning while driving north to Ocala, Fla.
“We haven’t decided what to do next,” he said. “I’ll decide in two or three days, I’d say.”
Queen Goddess won the Grade 3 Pegasus Filly and Mare Turf, and she was scheduled to be flown back Tuesday to trainer Michael McCarthy’s main base at Santa Anita. Ridden by Saez for Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Gary Barber, the 5-year-old mare earned a career-best 100 Beyer. She finished 1 1/2 lengths before runner-upShantisara in the 1 1/16-mile race.
“We’re just going to enjoy this one for now and allow her to catch her breath,” Aron Wellman, Eclipse managing partner, said Sunday. “We want to position her for a hearty, sustainable season, so the Jenny Wiley and/or the Gamely are races that Michael and I tentatively discussed this morning as likely next targets.”
The Grade 1 Jenny Wiley is set for April 15 at Keeneland, while the Grade 1 Gamely will be run May 29 at Santa Anita.
Future plans are not set for Shantisara, while fourth-finisher Dalika has been retired and most likely will be bred to Flightline, according to owner Paul Varga.
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