Sleepy Eyes Todd headed to Pegasus after Mr. Prospector triumph

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Sleepy Eyes Todd earned himself a starting berth in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup after out-gaming 5-2 favorite Firenze Fire to register a half-length victory in Saturday’s Grade 3 Mr. Prospector at Gulfstream Park.

Mind Control finished third.

The win was the fourth on the day for jockey Tyler Gaffalione.

The seven-furlong Mr. Prospector was also the penultimate leg of a Rainbow 6 sequence that offered a mandatory payout with a final pool of nearly $6.2 million. All six winners returned a payoff of $7,363.64.

The versatile Sleepy Eyes Todd has been well traveled and red hot over the past four months, having won three of his four starts, all stakes, during that period. He won the Grade 2 Charlestown Classic going 1 1/8 miles on Aug. 28 and the seven-furlong Lafayette on Breeders’ Cup Day at Keeneland as a prelude to shipping to South Florida for the Mr. Prospector. His only setback during the second half of the season was a fifth place in the Grade 1 Awesome Again at Santa Anita in late September.

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Gaffalione was aboard Sleepy Eyes Todd for the first time in the Mr. Prospector, becoming the ninth different jockey to ride the 4-year-old son of Paddy O’Prado in his last nine starts.

Sleepy Eyes Todd settled nicely in mid-pack off the crisp early pace set by the 35-1 longshot Winds of Change, commencing his bid near the inside on the finale bend. He overtook the tiring leader from between horses at midstretch while joined to his outside by Firenze Fire at that point, but dug in gamely to hold the tepid favorite at bay through the final sixteenth. Mind Control raced wide while moving to close contention after six furlongs, but could not match strides with the top pair at the end, finishing another 2 3/4 lengths behind Firenze Fire.

Defending Mr. Prospector champion Diamond Oops finished ninth while never a serious factor.

Trained by Miguel Angel Silva for the Thumbs Up Racing LLC, Sleepy Eyes Todd paid $12.20 after covering the distance in 1:21.67 over a fast track.

“We’ve always been high on him, we wanted to bring him to the Kentucky Derby (last year), but he had a little issue and we had to stop on him,” Silva said. “He’s the best horse we’ve ever had and we just want to have fun with him. The Pegasus World Cup will be next. That’s what we’re here for.”

Gaffalione praised Silva for the job he did preparing Sleepy Eyes Todd for the race.

“Everything set up perfectly. He broke well and put himself in the race. I was able to get a nice tracking spot inside. He gave me all the confidence going into the stretch and once he found a spot he accelerated and finished the job. All the credit goes to the trainer. He did a fabulous job getting him ready for today,” Gaffalione said.

Always Shopping wins Via Borghese

Always Shopping proved conclusively that she has found herself a home on the grass after rallying to a convincing three-length victory in the $100,000 Via Borghese.

Great Island crossed the finish line second but was ultimately disqualified and placed third behind Cap de Creus after ducking out and interfering with that filly near midstretch. Todd Pletcher trains both Always Shopping and Cap de Creus.

The Via Borghese was the second win in four starts on grass for Always Shopping, a 4-year-old daughter of Awesome Again who won the Grade 2 Gazelle over the main track at Aqueduct during the spring of her 3-year-old campaign. Always Shopping won the Monroe Stakes over the local turf course in September and entered the Via Borghese off a game but hard-luck second-place finish going 1 1/2 miles in the Grade 3 Dowager earlier this fall at Keeneland.

Owned by Repole Stable, Always Shopping returned $7.40 after completing 1 3/16 miles over a firm course in 1:54.34. The win was the third on the day for her rider, Irad Ortiz Jr.

“We anticipated [Traipsing] would be on the lead. I thought we might be laying second, but Irad was in a comfortable spot and he said she was taking him wherever he wanted her to go throughout the race,” Pletcher said. “She really jumped in at the top of the stretch and kicked on hard. They weren’t going very fast early, but they were late.”