Of course, one would want to get involved in the biggest American race of the winter, but the Pegasus World Cup elicits too many questions to find a firm answer. The favorites, National Treasure and First Mission, can be opposed, but who is the alternative? Trademark, who vanquished First Mission in the Clark, is inconsistent. Senor Buscador ran against the bias in the Cigar Mile but requires a long one-turn race like that for his best, while Cigar winner Hoist the Gold benefited from that bias. Skippylongstocking, potential value, drew an objectively terrible post. R Calli Kim can topple Romagna Mia in the La Prevoyante but won’t offer value. Perhaps there’s more elsewhere on the card. Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf The morning line here seems questionable, especially 5-2 on Star Fortress, who should be a longer price. If her American debut is real, she’ll win, but the Churchill course last fall was so funky and Star Fortress so dominant that I can’t take the performance at face value. Didia would be the right horse for this race at 1 1/4 miles, and she might get by at this level going 1 1/8 miles, but 1 1/16 miles is too short, and to be honest, I wanted to see more in the Breeders’ Cup. Mission of Joy nearly was the play, but her 10-1 line seems too high, and the wide draw, with her style and the way this race shapes, could spell trouble. While she has done well at 1 1/8 miles, Mission of Joy strikes me as more of a miler and this shorter distance could help her. Her most recent work looked excellent. Tempting. :: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports Who else had a good work? Fluffy Socks, who likely comes down from her morning line but feels playable at 7-2 or better. Going back through her career breeze history one can’t find one as swift as the 48.40 seconds she turned in Jan. 13 over the deep Payson Park surface, and Fluffy Socks, for a turf horse working on dirt, made a positive visual impression. Fluffy Socks, if you look at the races that bookend her campaign, seemed to reach a peak as a 5-year-old in 2023. Her Distaff Turf Mile win over Spendarella was excellent, and I doubt Fluffy Socks ever has run better than in the Matriarch last month. Surge Capacity nipped her there only after saving all the ground and finding room in midstretch, while Fluffy Socks spun very wide. Off a slow pace in the Athenia, she had no chance, but the tempo Saturday will be swift. Fluffy Socks possesses the best kick in the race, and I expect it to propel her to victory. William L. McKnight With the expected scratches, F Five has a real chance to draw into the race, apply at least mild pressure on the capable Cellist, and help set the table for his stablemate, Anglophile. Anglophile’s last two races obscure his steady improvement through much of 2023, and as a son of English Channel, Anglophile will be better this year than last. He beat a very good horse in Far Bridge at Kentucky Downs, that after trouble cost him a victory in the Kentucky Downs Preview Dueling Grounds Derby at Ellis Park. And if you suspect, as I do, that those races over nine and 9 1/2 furlongs were just getting him warmed up, then the 1 1/16-mile Tropical Park Derby, a prep for this start, was far too short. Anglophile still might have won that race with a better trip; traffic trouble began at the half-mile pole and didn’t abate until midstretch. Anglophile ought to show stalking speed in his first try at 12 furlongs, and I have little doubt he’ll stay the trip. Fred W. Hooper Brian Lynch trains Anglophile, John Velazquez rides him, and I’ll go back to that same team in the Fred Hooper, where Tumbarumba would offer good value at his plausible 8-1 morning line. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. Tumbarumba, a 4-year-old with upside, made his last two starts over nine furlongs and around two turns, but one easily could posit this one-turn mile is his best trip. He had rotten luck two back at Remington, and despite dropping down to Louisiana-bred competition last out at Fair Grounds, he ran into a legitimate stakes horse in Touchuponastar. In April, Tumbarumba beat Scotland, who has quality, and from post 11 on Saturday he should get a sweet stalking trip behind a strong, contested pace. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.