HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – After upsetting the previously undefeated and odds-on favorite Breeze On By in the 1 1/16-mile In Reality Stakes here in late September, Boca Boy appeared to be headed for bigger and better things during the latter stages of his 2-year-old campaign. But a minor setback several weeks later put those plans on hold.

Mucho Gusto, the winner of the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational and four other stakes, was retired on Tuesday after sustaining a soft-tissue injury in a gallop at Santa Anita, trainer Bob Baffert said on Wednesday.

The injury was detected a little more than two weeks before Mucho Gusto was scheduled to start in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 23.

“He had a soft-tissue injury,” Baffert said. “He wasn’t sore on it. He would need a lot of time off to recover. We’d have to give him six months, so he’ll be retired.”

ARCADIA, Calif. – Roman Centurian was comprehensively beaten in a maiden special weight race at 6 1/2 furlongs in his debut at Del Mar in November. The colt’s debut around two turns in a maiden race at 1 1/16 miles on Sunday at Santa Anita in his second start produced the opposite result.

Ridden by Juan Hernandez, Roman Centurian closed from eighth in a field of 10 to win by 3 3/4 lengths at 7-1.

“That was a good win,” trainer Simon Callaghan said. “We sprinted him the first time knowing that he wanted to go long.

ARCADIA, Calif. – The initial days of 2021 have been very kind to trainer Peter Miller, who won five races from Friday through Sunday at Santa Anita to take a commanding lead in the trainers’ standings after the first two weeks of the winter-spring meeting.

Miller has won seven races since opening day on Dec. 26 and through Sunday holds a three-win advantage over Bob Baffert.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – There are a million ways to lose a horse race. Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. learned one of the more unusual ones when Drain the Clock lost his rider Heriberto Figueroa in the run down the backstretch as the even-money favorite in the Jean Lafitte Stakes at Delta Downs on Nov. 30. Figueroa said the sole of his boot ripped and he lost his balance.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Miss Brazil, a good-looking 2 1/2-length maiden winner here Nov. 29, is targeting the $100,000 Ruthless Stakes on Feb. 7 for her next start, trainer Tony Dutrow said.

Last Friday, Miss Brazil worked four furlongs in 47.98 seconds over the Belmont Park training track, getting her final quarter in 23.57.

“I was super happy with how fluid she was,” Dutrow said. “I thought the rider did a great job, and it was well within herself, very happy.”

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Progeny of Laoban impressed throughout 2020 on this circuit, and that continued in the early days of 2021 when the New York-bred filly Breakfastatbonnies rolled to an 11 1/4-length debut score Saturday at Aqueduct.

Despite breaking a step slowly, Breakfastatbonnies was hustled into contention by Kendrick Carmouche, and raced three wide outside of two other front-running types before taking charge turning for home and drawing off in the stretch.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Capo Kane, the dominant 6 1/4-length winner of the $150,000 Jerome Stakes here on New Year’s Day, will likely return to Aqueduct for the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers Stakes on Feb. 6, trainer Harold Wyner said Monday.

Wyner, who is based at Parx Racing, said Capo Kane came out of the one-mile Jerome “real well,” and that the Withers, at 1 1/8 miles, is the next logical target for the California-bred son of 2007 Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense.

Trainer Tom Amoss went winless with three Fair Grounds starters Sunday – noteworthy for a barn that ended the year smoking.

Before Sunday, Amoss had gone 14-7-2-0 at Fair Grounds since Christmas, a far cry from his stable’s 3-24 mark to start this Fair Grounds season.

“The way I started the meet they were whispering behind my back, it was so bad,” Amoss said. “There are all kind of things that go into turning it around.”

Neither Maxfield nor Mystic Guide, Godolphin homebreds based at Fair Grounds, will make the Pegasus World Cup Invitational later this month, their respective trainers said Sunday.

Both 4-year-old colts are getting over a relatively minor virus that has been circulating at Fair Grounds in recent weeks. Brendan Walsh, who trains Maxfield, said his horse is scheduled to go back to the track Monday, but an interruption in training rules out any chance of making the Pegasus.