Mufasa draws away in the slop for victory in Vosburgh

Mufasa added his name to the list of key contenders for this year’s Breeders’ Cup after drawing off to a very impressive and one-sided 4 1/4-length victory over Scotland and four other overmatched rivals in Saturday’s Grade 3, $250,000 Vosburgh at soggy Aqueduct. The Vosburgh awarded its winner a fees-paid berth in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint on Nov. 2 at Del Mar.

Mufasa is a late arrival on the Breeders’ Cup scene, having made his first 10 career starts in his native Chile before coming to the United States and joining the barn of Ignacio Correas IV earlier this season. A son of Practical Joke, Mufasa finished a disappointing sixth making his North American debut under allowance conditions June 30 at Churchill Downs before rebounding with an easy and well-graded (99 Beyer Speed Figure) allowance tally at Colonial Downs six weeks later.

Mufasa, who registered a pair of wins going 1 1/8 miles and was a Group 3 winner in Chile, enjoyed a perfect trip over the sloppy and sealed track under new rider Irad Ortiz Jr. in the seven-furlong Vosburgh. Mufasa stalked the early pace of Dean Delivers under confident handling, moved to command after fanning a bit wide off the turn, and then drew off readily when sharply roused through the final furlong.

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Scotland rallied outside and just behind the winner leaving the turn but proved no match for Mufasa while easily best of the others. Dean Delivers – who came into the race having won his last four starts – finished a tiring third, another four lengths in front of Baby Yoda who was never a factor.

Mufasa covered the distance in 1:22.51 over the wet going and paid $5.20 as the favorite. He earned a 97 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort.

“I think it was impressive. We were expecting something big from him,” Correas said. “The only question was the surface. He’d never run on the slop. He did everything good, like usual, like good horses do. When he ran at Churchill, it was a little short [6 1/2 furlongs], but he showed he could run, he made a big move that day. Then, at Colonial, he beat a very good horse [Repo Rocks]. And today he was impressive again. I mean, no words can describe his performance.”

The big question now for Correas is: Does he turn Mufasa back to six furlongs for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint or stretch him back out again for the Dirt Mile?

“I don’t know, I have to talk to the owners,” Correas said. “It depends on how the race is drawn out. We still have time to think and look into it. We still have a little bit more than a month.”

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