Other than a lack of star power, the Pegasus World Cup and Pegasus World Cup Turf have everything you’d want in Grade 1 stakes races. The fields are full, with overmatched entrants few and far between, and plenty of grist to run through the handicapping mill. Besides the excellent, appealing Pegasus card at Gulfstream, there’s the first Saturday of racing at Oaklawn Park, meaning the American winter racing season is heating up. Pegasus World Cup I’m not going to cede the Pegasus World Cup to Knicks Go, but I will concede he could simply run away from this group and never look back. Yes, he’s going from Keeneland races that ended at the sixteenth pole out to a 1 1/8-mile trip he’s never tried, but Gulfstream racing, which can reward speed, and where the wire comes quick off the turn, is exactly the kind of place for a natural miler to go nine furlongs. :: Pegasus World Cup 2021: Contenders, entries, results, news, odds, picks, past performances, and more. Knicks Go is 5-3-1-0 at Keeneland and 12-2-2-0 at other venues, though it must be said that in his first start for trainer Brad Cox he also delivered a superior performance at Oaklawn. Knicks Go loves the Keeneland surface under any circumstances, it appears, and the supercharged nature of the track for the BC Dirt Mile further worked in his favor. I believe his post-time odds are going to drop below the morning line, and in weighing risk against reward, a horse making his first start sans Lasix also must be priced into the equation. In terms of an overall body of work, Code of Honor leads this bunch, and even looking at peak performance he’s not far behind Knicks Go, so I’ll make him my play. Code of Honor is somewhat lightly made, the kind of beast who’s supposed to mature and be at his best as a 5-year-old. He’s always excelled with ample time, five or six weeks, between races. His pattern into Saturday’s start, running through the Cigar Mile and the Clark, suggests stepping-stones toward a new top. Unlike the presumptive favorite, his history includes success over the Gulfstream racing surface, and Code of Honor’s Jan. 18 workout, done in company with Performer, was both eye-catching and so much more than a mere half-mile, with the pair galloping out strongly well beyond the finish line. Pegasus World Cup Turf This is a fascinating contest, with many places one might turn, and I think there will be much gravitation toward Anothertwistafate. This 5-year-old remains unexposed after just two turf starts, clearly is fast enough, brings useful positional speed into the fray, and won well last out racing without Lasix. He should be highly competitive. Meanwhile, Todd Pletcher is doing his best Chad Brown imitation here with a trio of plausible players – Colonel Liam, Largent, and Social Paranoia – in a Grade 1 turf race. The morning line favors Colonel Liam and Largent; I favor Social Paranoia. :: Enhance your handicapping with DRF’s Gulfstream Park Clocker Report Social Paranoia, to my eyes, outworked Largent when they went in company Jan. 16 at Palm Beach Downs, and Largent, sharp recent win notwithstanding, has the weakest credentials of the Pletchers. Those with a degree in jockeyology will note Irad Ortiz Jr. rode Colonel Liam and Social Paranoia in their respective recent races and winds up on Colonel Liam. I do respect Colonel Liam. This colt has done nothing wrong in his three grass races, though his two stakes runs came against strictly 3-year-olds. Social Paranoia, meanwhile, is hung out in post 12 – and I don’t care. Social Paranoia has raced effectively employing a variety of styles, but I like him best as a total hold-up horse only let loose the final quarter-mile. I hope he’s ridden that way Saturday. The horse loves Gulfstream, and going last to first in the Appleton last March, he blistered his final quarter in 22.41 seconds. The last-out comeback run surely was a pure prep, and Social Paranoia, while effective over shorter distances, can go this far if things break his way and the timing works. Fifth Season Unfortunately, I expect Silver State to be favored here, but not to the extent that he’s unplayable if you regard him as highly as I do. Yes, the fall breakthrough came in one-turn races, which might turn out to be his forte, but this short-stretch mile has been the goal for quite some time, and Silver State can run just as well here as in Kentucky. This, to me, is a colt to look for in races like the Met Mile, and if that’s at all correct, he’ll boss this bunch.