Grade 1 winners In Love and Lady Speightspeare, and Atone, fourth by less than two lengths last winter, were among four horses elevated from reserves to the main invitation list for the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1) Saturday, Jan. 28 at Gulfstream Park.
Wednesday was the second of three invitation lists for Pegasus World Cup Day, a program featuring eight stakes, seven graded, worth $5.3 million in purse earnings including the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) presented by Baccarat and $500,000 Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf Invitational (G1).
The final invitation list is Wednesday, Jan. 18. Entries will be taken and post positions drawn Sunday, Jan. 22.
Two-time defending champion Colonel Liam continues to top the dozen invitees to the Pegasus Turf. Robert and Lawana Low's 6-year-old finished sixth in the Dec. 31 Fort Lauderdale (G2) at Gulfstream, his first race in 281 days. He is joined by City Man and Grade 1 winner Decorated Invader, respectively 1-2 in the Fort Lauderdale for trainer Christophe Clement.
Also remaining from the initial list are Ivar, a Brazilian-bred multiple Group 1 winner in Argentina that won the 2020 Shadwell Turf Mile (G1); Master Piece, winner of the Eddie Read (G2) and second in the Del Mar Handicap (G2); Hollywood Derby (G1) winner Speaking Scout; Who's the Star, riding a three-race win streak in the Durham Cup (G3), Autumn (G2) and Valedictory (G3) on Woodbine's all-weather surface; and 2022 Bay Shore (G3) winner Wit, third by less than a length in the Hollywood Derby.
Jordan Wycoff's Atone has placed four times in graded-stakes including the 2021 Fort Lauderdale and most recently the Mint Million (G3) last fall at Kentucky Downs. He ran fourth behind Colonel Liam, beaten 1 ¾ lengths, in the 2022 Pegasus Turf. Trainer Mike Maker won the Pegasus Turf with Zulu Alpha in 2020.
Bonne Chance Farm and Stud R D I's In Love, trained by Paulo Lobo, hails from the same connections as Ivar. The 7-year-old gelding is another Brazilian-bred Argentine import that won the Keeneland Turf Mile (G1) in 2021 and comes out of a three-quarter-length triumph in the 1 1/16-mile Prairie Bayou over Turfway Park's all-weather surface Dec. 17.
Charles Fipke's Lady Speightspeare is the lone female on the invitation list. The 5-year-old Speightstown mare owns four career graded-stakes wins – the 2020 Natalma (G1) and 2022 Nassau (G2), Trillium (G3) and Seaway (G3), all at Woodbine. She exits a third in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1) Nov. 5 at Keeneland.
Team Valor et. al's Hurricane Dream has been group-stakes placed four times in Europe that has yet to race in the U.S. He was beaten a head when second in the one-mile Brunner Oettingen Rennen (G2) last September in Germany.
California Racing Partners, Ciaglia Racing and Ryan Hanson's One More Bid, last out winner of the Santa Anita Mathis Mile (G2) Dec. 26, is a new addition to the reserve list that also includes 2022 Louisville (G3) winner Cellist; Dark Shift, winner of the Royal Hunt Cup last summer at Royal Ascot; multiple graded-stakes placed Good Governance, fourth last out in the Fort Lauderdale; 2022 Knickerbocker (G3) winner King Cause; Law Professor, a Grade 2 winner on dirt that won the Tapit on the turf at Kentucky Downs last fall; and Street Ready, third in the Fort Lauderdale.
The Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf also saw four horses elevated from the initial reserve list – Kate's Kingdom, Lady Rockstar, Perseverancia and Scotish Star. Kate's Kingdom ended 2022 with back-to-back stakes wins in the Ontario Matron (G3) at Woodbine and My Charmer at Turfway Park, both over all-weather surfaces. She is entered in Turfway's Likely Exchange Saturday.
British-bred Lady Rockstar, by Frankel, was second by a length to fellow invitee Stolen Holiday in the Dec. 31 Suwannee River (G3) at Gulfstream. Perseverancia exits a runner-up finish to Dalika in the Nov. 24 Cardinal (G3) while Scotish Star, third in the Chillingworth (G3) on dirt at Santa Anita last fall, finished sixth as the favorite in the Suwannee River.
New to the invite list is Bridlewood Farm's multiple stakes winner Bay Storm, who captured the Incredible Revenge last summer at Monmouth Park and ended her 2022 season running second by a nose in the Mint Ladies Sprint (G3) at Kentucky Downs and third after setting the pace in the one-mile Suwannee River.
Remaining from the initial invite list are Artie's Princess, Dalika, Justify My Love, Queen Goddess, Shantisara, Stolen Holiday and Wakanaka. Shantisara earned Grade 1 credentials while winning the 2021 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Keeneland and is trained by Chad Brown, who saddled Regal Glory for a victory in the 2022 Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf.
Wakanaka, who is trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, captured the Fall Harvest to conclude a productive 2022 season that included a victory in the Dance Smartly (G2) at Woodbine and a runner-up finish behind Regal Glory in the Just a Game (G1) at Belmont. Al Stall Jr.-trained Dalika, a hard-hitting 7-year-old daughter of Pastorius, earned Grade 1 credentials with a victory in the Beverly D. (G1) at Churchill Downs in August and also won the Ladies Turf (G3) at Kentucky Downs and the Cardinal (G3) at Churchill.
2021 American Oaks (G1) and 2022 Santa Ana (G3) and Robert J. Frankel (G3) winner Queen Goddess is trained by Michael McCarthy, who saddled City of Light for a victory in the 2019 Pegasus World Cup. Artie's Princess won the Presque Isle Masters (G2) for defending Championship Meet leading trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., while Justify My Love is a Brazilian-bred Group 2 winner in Argentina that hails from the same connections as In Love and Ivar.
The lone horse on the reserve list is new addition Sweet Enough, owned by Trevor Harris and trained by Hall of Famer Roger Attfield. The 5-year-old mare won a trio of minor stakes in her native England and most recently earned her first North American victory in a 1 1/16-mile optional claiming allowance Dec. 29 at Gulfstream.
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