Omaha Beach 7-5 morning-line favorite in 12-horse Pegasus World Cup
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – It was a chilly 41 degrees here at Gulfstream Park when Omaha Beach got back to the barn after his daily gallop Wednesday morning, but the interaction between he and trainer Richard Mandella was enough to warm a fire.
In the less than two years that Omaha Beach has been part of the Mandella barn, the Hall of Fame trainer has grown emotionally attached to the now 4-year-old colt, who will make his final start Saturday in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup, for which he drew post 5 in a field of 12 on Wednesday.
Mandella has been here for the past month, desirous of spending as much time as possible with Omaha Beach before he leaves next week for Spendthrift Farm, where he will begin stud duty next month. When Omaha Beach got his bath Wednesday morning, Mandella helped assistant trainer Jose Vera and exercise rider Taylor Cambra with their chores. When Omaha Beach was being walked afterward, Mandella admired him every time he came past, occasionally reminding Cambra to adjust his blanket, or having Omaha Beach stop so he could pat him on the neck. The affection was obvious.
“He’s pretty special,” Mandella said. “He’s such a nice horse to be around. I don’t think he ever has any bad thoughts. He feels good, but never has any bad thoughts. He is a pleasure. You could probably take him home and teach him to sit on the couch.
“I’ve been fortunate to have some pretty good ones to compare him to,” said Mandella, 69, who has won nine Breeders’ Cup races and trained such outstanding runners as four-time champion Beholder and 1993 Horse of the Year Kotashaan, “but nobody I could say was better.”
Omaha Beach’s entire racing career will number just 11 starts, the highlights thus far including Grade 1 victories in the Arkansas Derby, Santa Anita Sprint Championship, and, most recently, the Malibu Stakes. The biggest disappointment, unquestionably, was having to be scratched days before the Kentucky Derby, for which he was the morning-line favorite, owing to an entrapped epiglottis. Omaha Beach also battled through a quarter crack prior to victories in the Arkansas Derby and a division of the Rebel, and had minor issues that negated a planned comeback earlier in the summer at Del Mar.
“The throat thing was the worst, because there wasn’t anything I could do,” Mandella said. “I felt helpless. It took a longer time than expected to get better. But it did.
“I’m grateful for what he got to do. You could complain about what happened, but we’re lucky for what did happen. Not many get to experience it.”
Omaha Beach is scheduled to fly from here to Kentucky on Monday, a day after Mandella flies back to his base at Santa Anita.
“That way they won’t see me with tears in my eyes,” he said.
For his final race Saturday, Omaha Beach will face 11 rivals in the 1 1/8-mile Pegasus World Cup. He was installed as the 7-5 favorite on the morning line of Gulfstream Park’s Jay Stone. Spun to Run, who beat Omaha Beach in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, is the second choice at 7-2, with Mucho Gusto at 9-2 and Higher Power 6-1. From the rail out, the field is True Timber, Tax, Diamond Oops, Seeking the Soul, Omaha Beach, Higher Power, War Story, Mr Freeze, Spun to Run, Mucho Gusto, Tenfold, and Bodexpress.
The $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf, at 1 3/16 miles, has 13 entered, of whom a maximum of 12 can run. Magic Wand, runner-up in this race last year, drew post 12 and is the tepid 7-2 favorite on Stone’s line, followed by Without Parole at 4-1, Mo Forza at 5-1, and Arklow at 6-1.
From the rail out, the Turf field is Zulu Alpha, Arklow, Without Parole, Sadler’s Joy, Channel Cat, Instilled Regard, Admission Office, Henley’s Joy, Next Shares, Mo Forza, Sacred Life, and Magic Wand. Tusk is the lone also-eligible.
Trainer Chad Brown, who won the Pegasus Turf last year with Bricks and Mortar, has three chances this year, with Instilled Regard, Sacred Life, and Without Parole.
This is the fourth Pegasus World Cup, and the second Pegasus Turf. But for the first time, both races will be run under conditions that prohibit the use of the anti-bleeding medication Lasix.
