National Treasure (Quality Road), last year's front-running GI Preakness S. hero and a latest painful second to Horse of the Year Cody's Wish (Curlin) in the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Santa Anita Nov. 4, gave trainer Bob Baffert a third victory in the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. and his sire a second Saturday afternoon at Gulfstream Park.
“I'm proud of him. He ran his race. He showed up,” said Baffert by phone from Southern California. “That's all you can ask for as a trainer. He was prepping well for it.”
Baffert also won the Pegasus World Cup with Arrogate (2017) and Mucho Gusto (2020).
“I've always thought he was that good a horse,” Baffert added. “He was just very immature and he's getting better and better, the way he's training. He trained much better than he was going into the Breeders' Cup.”
Flavien Prat was intent on being a forward factor aboard the 5-2 post-time favorite, but John Velazquez aboard GII Cigar Mile H. hero Hoist the Gold (Mineshaft) had similar designs on the lead.
Hoist the Gold showed the way with National Treasure a pressing second through taxing fractions of :23.18 and :46.32. National Treasure came after Hoist the Gold with a quarter mile to race and kicked for home as the one to catch.
In the meantime, GI Breeders' Cup Classic seventh and Cigar Mile runner-up Senor Buscador (Mineshaft) was winding up with an inside run on the far turn and would have had every chance given the shape of the race.
It seemed inevitable that he'd race right by National Treasure in the deciding stages, but the latter had just enough in reserve to take it by a long neck. Crupi (Curlin) closed from last of 12 to finish third at longshot odds.
“He's very brave. Obviously, a great job by Bob,” Prat said of the winner. “He's always on point. It's been a great pleasure riding [National Treasure].”
National Treasure, a solid third in the 2022 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Keeneland, followed his Preakness win with a sixth-place finish in the GI Belmont S., a fifth-place finish in the GI Travers S. and a fourth-place finish in the GI Awesome Again S. He just got tagged by a nose by Cody's Wish at the Championships.
National Treasure is campaigned by the powerful partnership of SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Robert Masterson, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Jay Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital LLC and Catherine Donovan.
“It's a wonderful partnership,” SF Racing's Tom Ryan said. “Great group of people that have stood behind us the whole way throughout over the last five or six years. Bob has taken us to places that we probably didn't feel we could arrive. This horse, what he did today, sitting off a horse, showed a new dimension. He's going to be a very nice 4-year-old.”
'TDN Rising Star' First Mission (Street Sense), a narrow runner-up in the GII Clark S. and the 5-2 second choice, showed a little early speed before fading to ninth for trainer Brad Cox, who had saddled Knicks Go for a victory in the 2021 Pegasus World Cup.
“Just didn't handle the track at all. A lot of dirt hitting him in the face. He didn't seem like he wanted to go forward through it,” Cox said. “Luis [Saez] said at the half-mile pole he didn't move forward when asked. Pretty simple watching the race on television, I kind of thought going up the backside he was struggling with the ground. Regroup and see what happens.”
Pedigree Notes:
National Treasure, a $500,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select yearling purchase, is among the 15 Grade/Group 1 winners by leading sire Quality Road. Quality Road, winner of this race's predecessor (GI Donn H.) in 2010, also sired the 2019 Pegasus winner City of Light.
National Treasure was bred by Peter Blum Thoroughbreds, who retained his dam Treasure–a maiden of seven career start–after she RNA'd for $375,000 as a yearling at the 2013 Keeneland September Sale. Treasure is also responsible for the stakes winner Ultimate (Speightstown) and last year's GI Hopeful S. third-place finisher and 'TDN Rising Star' Pirate (Omaha Beach), who commanded $350,000 as a Keeneland September yearling. Treasure's 2-year-old Authentic filly has been named Renoir. Treasure delivered a full brother to National Treasure Jan. 19.
A treasure for a treasure! #7 NATIONAL TREASURE ($7.20) holds of a rallying Senor Buscador to win the $3,000,000 GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes!
The Preakness Stakes winner was ridden by Flavien Prat for trainer Bob Baffert. pic.twitter.com/5pdKVlydwx
— TVG (@TVG) January 27, 2024
Saturday, Gulfstream
PEGASUS WORLD CUP INVITATIONAL S. PRESENTED BY BACCARAT-GI, $2,932,700, Gulfstream, 1-27, 4yo/up, 1 1/8m, 1:50.51, ft.
1–NATIONAL TREASURE, 123, c, 4, by Quality Road
              
1st Dam: Treasure, by Medaglia d'Oro
               2nd Dam: Proposal, by Mt. Livermore
               3rd Dam: Lady of Choice, by Storm Bird
($500,000 Ylg '21 FTSAUG). O-SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing,
Madaket Stables LLC, Robert E. Masterson, Stonestreet Stables
LLC, Jay A. Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital LLC and
Catherine Donovan; B-Peter E. Blum Thoroughbreds, LLC (KY);
T-Bob Baffert; J-Flavien Prat. $1,719,000. Lifetime Record:
11-3-2-2, $3,322,000. *1/2 to Ultimate (Speightstown), SW,
$395,778 and Pirate (Omaha Beach), GISP. Werk Nick Rating:
A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for
the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Senor Buscador, 123, h, 6, Mineshaft–Rose's Desert, by
Desert God. O-Joe R. Peacock, Jr.; B-Joe R Peacock Sr. & Joe R
Peacock Jr. (KY); T-Todd W. Fincher. $573,000.
3–Crupi, 123, c, 4, Curlin–Don'tforgetaboutme, by Malibu
Moon. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE, 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE.
($275,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP). O-Repole Stable and St. Elias
Stables LLC; B-Claiborne Farm (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher.
$286,500.
Margins: NK, 4HF, 6 1/4. Odds: 2.60, 8.90, 34.00.
Also Ran: Hoist the Gold, O'Connor (Chi), Il Miracolo, Dynamic One, Nimitz Class, First Mission, Trademark, Grand Aspen, Skippylongstocking. Scratched: Castle Chaos.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
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