Poseidon tops six stakes on Pegasus undercard

No fewer than six undercard stakes are on tap for Saturday at Gulfstream Park in creating a suitable buildup to the inaugural Pegasus World Cup. The richest of those supporting events is the $400,000 Poseidon, which also is being run for the first time.

The Poseidon, like the Pegasus, is for older horses at 1 1/8 miles on the main track. Entries were to be drawn Monday afternoon, with the confirmed starters being Imperative, Cherry Wine, and Todd Pletcher’s Stanford and Madefromlucky.

These are the five other undercard races drawn Monday: the Grade 3, $200,000 W.L. McKnight Handicap for older horses on turf; the Grade 3, $200,000 La Prevoyante for fillies and mares on turf; the Grade 3, $100,000 Hurricane Bertie for fillies and mares at seven furlongs; and the $125,000 Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint and $125,000 Ladies’ Turf Sprint.

◗ For almost any other trainer, it would be regarded as a wondrous feat. But for Pletcher, winning with three first-time starters Sunday at Gulfstream wasn’t necessarily out of the ordinary.

Pletcher, a seven-time Eclipse Award winner for top trainer, scored with a trio of 3-year-olds: Coors Lute ($6.80) in the third, Ghalia ($3.20) in the fifth, and Adorable Miss ($11) in the eighth.