Romans pleased by Mr Freeze's Pegasus performance

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Everybody would prefer to win, but Dale Romans was very happy with the way Mr Freeze ran when second in the Pegasus World Cup last Saturday.

Mr Freeze was on the muscle from the start, leading most of the way under Luis Saez before being overtaken only by Mucho Gusto, the 4 1/2-length winner. The 5-year-old horse is owned by Jim Bakke and Gerald Isbister.

“We’re extremely pleased and proud of him,” said Romans. “He’s showing he can run with these good horses at pretty much any distance. I don’t have any clue where we’ll go with him next, maybe one of the overseas races, I don’t know. Once all these emotions die down, we’ll sit down and talk it over.”

Meanwhile, Romans is on a set schedule with his top Derby prospect Dennis’ Moment, who will make his 3-year-old debut in the Fountain of Youth.

“We’ll work him every Saturday into the race,” he said. “He’s doing great.”

Winebaugh on the mend

Kenny Winebaugh, who in recent years has wintered at Gulfstream when helping to manage the stable of his wife, trainer Cheryl Winebaugh, has remained home in Chicago after suffering a stroke in late December.

Cheryl Winebaugh won nine races at the 2017-18 Gulfstream meet with her husband always close at hand. Trainer Patti Miller, a close friend of the Winebaughs, said Kenny, 56, has suffered partial paralysis on his left side and was scheduled to undergo further diagnosis Monday by specialists at the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

While both Winebaughs are away, Joel Martinez is overseeing the stable at Gulfstream. Two horses, Bold Paynter and Beast Mode, have won at this meet in Cheryl’s name.

◗ Trainer Yvon Belsoeur has relocated to Ocala for the time being after losing much of his stable to an owner switch. Belsoeur sent out his most recent starter on Dec. 6 at Gulfstream, shortly after which his main client, Bruno Schickedanz, transferred most of his Belsoeur runners to Sandra Matier.

Belsoeur, who had his first victory in the U.S. in 2001, hit a career peak in 2018 by winning with 35 of 194 starters for stable earnings of nearly $800,000.