The event will be called the California Crown and the premier race on the afternoon will be a revamped GI Awesome Again S. It was previously reported that the Awesome Again will be restricted to 3-year-olds, which will not be the case. It will remain a race for 3-year-olds and older.

1/ST Racing President Aidan Butler said that the company is looking to include the GII Eddie D. S., run at 6 1/2 furlongs on the downhill turf course, and the GII John Henry Turf Championship S., run at a mile-and-a-quarter on the turf, as part of the California Crown series. Other races traditionally run that weekend at Santa Anita include the GII Santa Anita Sprint Championship S., the GII City of Hope Mile S., the GII Zenyatta S., the GIII Tokyo City Cup and the $100,000 Unzip Me S.

The key detail that has yet to be announced is what will the purses for the races be. When announcing Saturday on NBC the formation of the California Crown, 1/ST CEO Belinda Stronach said it would be the richest non-Breeders' Cup Day of racing in the history of Southern California racing. The purse of the 2023 Awesome Again was just $300,000, one tenth the amount given away in the Pegasus.

With so much uncertainty in California racing right now, including how simulcasting revenue in the state will be divided up once Golden Gate Fields closes in June, Butler said it's too early to announce purses.

“We still have a lot of work out there to figure out what the purses will be,” he said. “There are a lot of decisions that have to be made.  We are hoping we can get everything sorted out soon. But we don't want to jump the gun and announce purses when we don't know exactly what is going to happen with the CHRB, with the Northern circuit and with the Southern circuit. There are a lot of things we still have to work on.”

As is the case with the Pegasus, the California Crown will be about more than racing. 1/ST has turned Pegasus Day into a party that attracts a younger crowd and many people who are not regular racing fans.

“The intent is to create a great experience for anyone who is currently a racing fan and for potential new customers,” Butler said.  “There will be entertainment, things to elevate the customer experience. Los Angeles is such a huge market to draw from. People are used to a level of experience at sporting events with lots of entertainment and that's what we will try to replicate. Everybody thoroughly enjoyed the Pegasus. It was a really cracking day and people had a lot of fun. We want to do the same at Santa Anita. The good thing about Santa Anita is that it is such a big venue you can create an even bigger day. At Gulfstream, we struggle with how many people we can get in the building. We won't have that issue at Santa Anita.”

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Yes, he turned in a big effort in the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile when losing to eventual Horse of the Year Cody's Wish by a nose. But maybe Cody didn't run his best. He never did show an affinity for two turns. And maybe National Treasure's effort was a bit of a fluke. So I didn't like him one bit in Saturday's GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. at Gulfstream. As the 5-2 favorite, he was an easy toss.

I was wrong. Was I ever.

Yes, this was the weakest field ever to assemble for the Pegasus and he did win by only a neck over the hard-trying blue-collar type Senor Buscador (Mineshaft). But take a deeper dive into this race and you'll likely conclude, as I did, that this was a very strong performance from National Treasure, one in which he served notice that he might be on a path to a Horse of the Year title.

As soon as the gate opened, both National Treasure and Hoist the Gold (Mineshaft) left there with a purpose, to get to the lead. With Hoist the Gold narrowly in front, they battled through early fractions of :23 and :46. For National Treasure, this was supposed to be the worst trip possible. He didn't make the lead and was engaged in a battle that resulted in fast fractions.

Trainer Bob Baffert, watching from California, wasn't worried.

“I knew there was going to be a hot pace and [Flavien] Prat and I talked about it,” Baffert said. “You can't take his speed away. You can't be worried about one horse. Just let him do his thing and he did. That's why he won.”

With about five furlongs to go, Prat made the move that might have won the race for him. He backed off of Hoist the Gold, ever so slightly but enough to give his horse a quick breather. With three furlongs left, Prat called on National Treasure and he responded and went right back at Hoist the Gold. By mid-stretch he had put away Hoist the Gold and had clear sailing to the wire. But then Senor Buscador decided to make a race out of it and closed relentlessly. Another two or three jumps, he probably would have won the race. But National Treasure had enough left to hold him off.

“He's very brave,” Prat said of National Treasure.

Meanwhile, Hoist the Gold, the winner of the GII Cigar Mile H., was cooked in the stretch. He finished fourth, beaten 11 lengths.

Baffert was non-committal when asked about National Treasure's next race, but you have to think that the $20-million G1 Saudi Cup is on his radar. If so, he would meet White Abarrio (Race Day), which would mean an early season showdown between the two best older dirt males in training.

With so many top horses being retired at the end of 2023, it looked like there would be very little star power when it came to the older male dirt division this year. Maybe National Treasure can change that.

Ryan Moore Does It Again

European-based rider Ryan Moore turned in the ride of the day when he guided Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) to victory in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf. He saved ground every step of the way and burst through the hole that opened up at the top of the stretch when Balladeer (Distorted Humor) drifted ever so slightly off the fence and then held off eventual Eclipse Award winner Up to the Mark (Not This Time). Moore was the reason Auguste Rodin won the race.

On Saturday at Gulfstream, he gave a carbon-copy ride to Warm Heart (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) to win the nine-furlong Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational S.

On a horse whose biggest wins had come at a mile-and-a-half, Moore knew he couldn't afford to drop too far off the pace, so he had her positioned in third in the early going. She was third at the top of the stretch on the rail and it looked like Moore had nowhere to go. There never really was a hole, but when Maine Event (Bernardini) came out a half-path or so, Moore burst through the narrow opening and then held off a late bid from I'm Very Busy (Cloud Computing). Just as was the case in the Breeders' Cup, the horse probably doesn't win unless guided to a perfect trip by Moore.

“Ryan obviously gave her an incredible ride and has done such an incredible job,” winning trainer Aidan O'Brien said.

And give credit to the Coolmore team. When so many others find reasons not to run in races, this was Warm Heart's second start after she finished second in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. When it was determined that she was going to have to be in the U.S. anyway so that she could be bred to Justify, they figured why not head a ways down the road and go after the $1-million purse at Gulfstream. The win netted them $531,000. It was the perfect way to end Warm Heart's career.

By the way, how did Warm Heart go off at 2.4-1, while Integration (Quality Road) was 1.2-1? Yes, Integration looked like he had a lot of potential, but had never faced older horses in a stakes race and his biggest win came in the GII Hill Prince S. Yes, Warm Heart was a filly facing boys, but her record towered over that of anyone else in the field. She was a two-time Group I winner in Europe and missed by just a neck when second in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. She should have been the favorite.

Eclipse Awards

It's always fun to see every year what was the dumbest vote when it comes to the Eclipse Awards. The winner this year goes to the person who voted for Kirstenbosch (Midnight Lute) in the female sprinter category. Kirstenbosch went 2-for-9 on the year and both wins came in Grade III races. That also means that someone voted for her ahead of Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper), won two Grade I's during the year, including the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, and Echo Zulu (Gun Runner) who was 3-for-3 and based on some speed figures was the fastest horse to race during the year.

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“He's a great work horse,” trainer Brad Cox said Sunday. “He's continued to do the same here at the Fair Grounds in preparing for the Pegasus. He looked fantastic this morning. We actually took him to the track today [jogging a mile Sunday] because we're due some cold weather in the next few days and we may miss a day of training. But overall, super pleased with how he's moving and how he physically looks and how he is acting. I think he's set up for a big run to start his 4-year-old season.”

First Mission earned a spot in the GI Preakness S. last year with a win in the GIII Stonestreet Lexington S., but missed the second leg of the Triple Crown due to injury. He returned with an allowance win at Keeneland in October and is coming off a narrowly beaten runner-up effort in the Nov. 24 GII Clark S.

The Cox-trained GI Pennsylvania Derby winner Saudi Crown (Always Dreaming), another Pegasus invitee, also worked five furlongs at Fair Grounds Saturday, covering the distance in 1:00.20 (3/51). Owned by the Saudi-based FMQ Stables, the 4-year-old is entered in Saturday's GIII Louisiana S. as a prep for the Feb. 24 Saudi Cup in Riyadh, according to Cox.

Working for the Pegasus at Gulfstream Park Sunday, last year's GIII Smarty Jones S. winner Il Miracolo (Gun Runner) went five furlongs in 1:00.92 (5/11) with jockey Javier Castellano in the irons for trainer Antonio Sano.

“He went really good. I liked the way he did it today,” Castellano said. “He did it in good time and galloped out beautiful.”

Il Miracolo was third in the Pennsylvania Derby, a narrowly beaten second in the Oct. 28 GII Fayette S. and third in the Clark.

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“He's happy. He was bright and alert and seemed to be feeling pretty good about himself,” Mott reported from Payson Park Sunday morning.

Art Collector, winner of the 2021 GI Woodward S., had been a solid stakes performer before his emphatic 4 1/2-length victory in the Pegasus Saturday.

“It's strange. I knew he was doing well going into the race. I felt like he was training well, but you can't really predict the outcome in a race like that,” Mott said. “There's some nice horses in there and you don't know much about the rest of them. I knew our horse was doing well. Did he exceed expectations? I wouldn't say that because I didn't know what to expect.”

Plans for the 6-year-old remain up in the air.

“Anytime you've got a well-bred horse that's a Grade I-stakes winner, I think going to stud is always an option, and it's just a matter of timing when you do it. I can't say what was going on in [Lunsford's] head. I don't think that was the first thing that was on his mind though,” Mott said. “I think Bruce kind of entered the new year thinking he enjoys seeing him on the racetrack and I think he was prepared to continue on that route for the rest of the year if things got going well.”

Trainer Mike Maker reported Sunday that Three Diamonds Farm's Atone (Into Mischief) was also doing well following his breakthrough victory in Saturday's GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational.

“He came out of it in good order,” Maker said. “It's impossible not to be impressed by the way he ran.”

Maker mentioned the Mar. 25 GII Muniz Memorial Classic at Fair Grounds and May 6 GI Turf Classic at Churchill Downs as possible upcoming targets for Atone.

Atone capped a huge day at Gulfstream for Maker, who also ran sixth in the Pegasus Turf with 74-1 long shot King Cause (Creative Cause). Earlier in the day, Maker won the GIII Fred W. Hooper with Endorsed (Medaglia d'Oro) and finished first, second, third and fifth in the GIII William L. McKnight led by winner Red Knight (Pure Prize).

On the day, Maker had three wins, one second and two thirds and earned $846,300 in purses. Prior to that he had a record of 29-4-3-4 with $154,615 in purses earned at the Championship Meet, which opened Dec. 26.

“It was a great day,” Maker said. “We were kind of in a slump there and to break out of it in that fashion felt great.”

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“I'd really love to see that we bring it to the West Coast,” 1/ST President and CEO Belinda Stronach told the AP. “That will probably happen in 2024. What we did this year for 2023 was said, 'OK, we have a number of great race days, let's coordinate those better and call it the 1/ST Racing Tour and recognize great achievements within our own footprint.'”

The wire service reported that the plan is to have two Pegasus days in 2024, one at Gulfstream and the other at Santa Anita, with each program including turf and dirt races. It was not immediately clear where the two race days would fit into the calendar and what races would be run at each track. Stronach made it clear that the 2024 schedule will include Pegasus races at Gulfstream, the only home the events has known since it began in 2017.

“This is staying here in Miami,” Stronach said. “Pegasus has a home here in Miami. We can't move Pegasus from Miami. We have great partners here and it's more than just a day now. We have deep roots here in Miami.”

A California Pegasus will join the 1/ST Racing Tour, a package that includes many of the biggest days and races at the 1/ST tracks, including the GI Preakness S. at Pimlico. The tour also includes the runnings of the GI Florida Derby and the GI Santa Anita Derby.

“We can never rest on our laurels,” Stronach said. “We have to keep moving forward. We have a great team that's really committed.”

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“He went very well this morning,” said trainer Bill Mott. “I was happy with him. He galloped out well and cooled out. It's looking like he's coming into the race well.”

Art Collector, winner of the 2021 GI Woodward S. and two-time winner of the GII Charles Town Classic, has been off since finishing fifth in the Oct. 1 GII Lukas Classic. He was originally being considered for the Dec. 3 GI Cigar Mile at Aqueduct and the Dec. 31 GIII Harlan's Holiday S. at Gulfstream, the local prep for the Pegasus.

“We were thinking of the Cigar Mile, but we lost some time with him due to a foot abscess,” Mott said. “Then we considered the Harlan's Holiday, but we felt we just needed more time.”

Jet Set Racing Stable's Super Corinto (Arg) (Super Saver) breezed a half-mile in :49.03 (4/58) at Gulfstream Park Sunday morning in preparation for a start in the Pegasus World Cup.

The work was the fifth in a series of works since the 5-year-old captured a Dec. 8 optional-claiming allowance at Gulfstream. He was a Group 1 winner in Chile before being sent to trainer Amador Sanchez, for whom he finished second behind Chilean Group 1 winner O'Connor (Chi) (Boboman) in his U.S. debut Nov. 12.

Both South American imports, who took turns beating each other in Group 1 races before heading to the U.S., are among the 12 horses invited to the Pegasus World Cup.

Ivar (Brz) (Agnes Gold {Jpn}) turned in his penultimate work for the Jan. 28 GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational with a five-furlong work in 1:02.00 (2/15) at the Thoroughbred Training Center Saturday.

“Ivar is ready,” said trainer Paulo Lobo. “His work [Saturday] was very good, in company nice and easy, like he likes to do. His final work will be next Saturday here, and then we're going to ship him either that Monday or Tuesday.”

Third in the 2021 GI Breeders' Cup Mile, Ivar was second in last year's GI Woodbine Mile and GI Coolmore Turf Mile before ending the year with a fourth-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Mile at Keeneland in his most recent start.

“I think his race was very good,” Lobo said of the 2022 Breeders' Cup Mile won by European standout Modern Games. “He lost to a very top horse. Javier Castellano was riding him for the first time. He rode a very good race, and since then we've pointed for the Pegasus Turf and we've never missed a day and never had a bad day. Everything that we planned is happening, no problems.”

Lobo said Justify My Love (Brz) (Agnes Gold {Jpn}), like Ivar owned by Bonne Chance Farm LLC and breeder Stud RDI LLC,  will compete in the GI Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf Invitational on the Jan. 28 undercard.

Justify My Love was a Group 2 winner and Group 1-placed in Argentina before being sent to Lobo last year. Off a nine-month layoff, she was sixth in her first two starts before capturing a Churchill Downs' turf allowance race Nov. 19 in her most recent start.

“She's a very nice filly,” Lobo said. “It took a little while for her to adjust here, but she had a very nice win at Churchill Downs. She's in top form now, physically and mentally. I think she'll run well over there. The race is very tough, but I think she's going to enjoy a mile and an eighth. She's training super, this filly. Super.”

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Gulfstream's Jan. 28 card will also include the $1-million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational and the $500,000 GIII Pegasus World Cup F/M Turf Invitational, as well as four other graded events.

The Florida Derby is the culmination of Gulfstream's series of Triple Crown preps. The series will kick off Jan. 1 with the $150,000 Mucho Macho Man S. and will be followed by the $250,000 GIII Holy Bull S. Feb. 4 and the $400,000 GII Fountain of Youth S. Mar. 4.

The Florida Derby card features 10 stakes, including six graded events.

“This year's Championship Meet will continue Gulfstream's tradition of hosting many of the top horses, horsemen and women, jockeys from around the world, and some of the sport's most spectacular events,” said Aidan Butler, 1/ST RACING. “With races like the Pegasus World Cup Invitational, Florida Derby, Fountain of Youth and Gulfstream Park Oaks–along with the opening of Gulfstream's new world-class turf course–we believe this winter season will be one of the sport's most anticipated and popular meets.”

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“I had him in :48 and one on my watch, but more important is the way he went,” said trainer John Sadler. “He looked very comfortable and it was just a start on the road back. He'll return in the San Carlos, but the big goal is the [June 11 GI] Met Mile.”

Flightline, unchallenged in three lifetime starts, was tabbed a 'TDN Rising Star' following his debut win at Santa Anita last April and he added an optional claimer at Del Mar in September before a devastating 11 1/2-length victory in the Dec. 26 GI Runhappy Malibu S. in his most recent start.

Asked about a possible meeting with Saturday's impressive GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational winner Life Is Good (Into Mischief), Sadler said, “It would be a terrific race, very exciting.”

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But is he even the best horse in training?

It's a rare and special time for horse racing, which has been blessed with not just one but two horses who appear to be generational talents who could go down as among the best that ever raced.

The other, of course, is Flightline (Tapit), the fabulously talented but lightly raced $1-million yearling buy whose effortless win in the GI Runhappy Malibu S. drew comparisons to superstars like Ghostzapper (Awesome Again). He was given a 118 Beyer in the Malibu win, better than Life Is Good's best figure, which is the 110 Beyer he picked up in the Pegasus.

Who's better? The debate has already begun, but it's a question that can only be answered on the racetrack. Unfortunately, the two aren't exactly on a collision course to meet.

Flightline returned to the work tab Sunday at Santa Anita. In his first work since Dec. 19, a week before the Malibu, he went four furlongs in 47.80. Afterward, trainer John Sadler told the Daily Racing Form's Jay Privman that Flightline would start next in the Mar. 5 GII San Carlos S. at seven furlongs. The next start after that will likely be the GI Metropolitan H. to be run June 11.

As for Life Is Good, his next start will likely come in the Mar. 26 G1 Dubai World Cup.

“We're going to huddle up this week and discuss it,” said Elliott Walden, the president and CEO of racing operations for WinStar Farm, the co-owner of Life Is Good. “He will not run in the Saudi Cup, back in four weeks. So, Dubai would be the next option. We're going to see how he comes back and then start to map out the whole year.”

So far as the Met Mile goes, Walden wouldn't rule it out, but said that, if Life Is Good is to run in Dubai, that may eliminate the Met Mile from consideration. The next spot that could bring Flightline and Life Is Good together is the GI Whitney S. Sadler has listed that as a possible start for Flightline and Walden said Sunday it is a race that is also under consideration for Life Is Good. If all else fails, there is always the GI Breeders' Cup Classic, a race both stars are pointing toward.

“It would be fabulous if those two were to meet,” Walden said. “It would be great for horse racing. I think it's more a question of when than if. We haven't ducked anybody. We said right after the Dirt Mile what we were planning on doing. We want to do right by our horse and I know John Sadler wants to do right by his horse. He's a tremendous trainer. At some point they will meet and it will be great for racing.”

Life Is Good made his first three starts for trainer Bob Baffert. When Baffert ran into problems with the New York Racing Association, which has been attempting to suspend him, Life Is Good was transferred to Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher.

“I can't think of a horse [I trained] better than him,” Pletcher said following the Pegasus.

“To me, Life Is Good is right up there with Justify,” Walden said. “Justify won the Triple Crown and was undefeated. Bob [Baffert] early on compared him to American Pharoah and Justify. You think about all of the good horses Bob has had and all the good horses Todd has had and it's pretty amazing to think he's in that elite company.”

Walden, a former trainer, sees in Life Is Good characteristics that set him apart from most every other horse.

“The thing that separates Life is Good from the rest of the good horses I've been around is the fact that he never had a bad day,” he said. “Most horses will have an average workout from time to time, even though they are a very good horses, or they might look flat. This horse has never had a bad day on the racetrack. That's something, the more I've been around and the more I see, that is a characteristic of the great ones.”

That Life Is Good, who was the 4-5 favorite under Irad Ortiz, Jr., won was hardly a surprise, but few could have imagined that he could have out-sprinted a horse as quick as Knicks Go and open up by 3 1/2 lengths on his rival. Walden said the plan was to do what it took to get the lead.

“That was the game plan,” Walden said. “I know people say that's hard to fathom that, but this horse was in front of Jackie's Warrior at Saratoga in the Allen Jerkens. Why wouldn't he be in front of Knicks Go? I know Knicks Go is a great horse and is a deserving champion, but I didn't have any doubt he could be up there with Knicks Go. I'm not saying I thought he'd be three or four lengths in front of him, but I never thought he'd take a back seat to his speed, just because of what happened at Saratoga. To be in front of Jackie's Warrior like he was, that showed the speed and athleticism that Life Is Good has.”

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The Equine MediRecord platform that will be used allows for the full veterinary history of the horse to be collected digitally and recorded securely. Use of this platform will be mandatory and will provide all entrants, trainers and veterinarians with a user-friendly system to comply with the strict medication protocols for this year's event. Once the records are entered into the system they cannot be altered. Results are submitted digitally to designated regulators and officials ensuring the highest level of integrity and transparency of veterinary records.

“The digitization of veterinary records for the Pegasus World Cup is an example of how 1/ST is innovating and using technology to improve our sport,” said Dr. Dionne Benson, Chief Veterinary Officer, 1/ST RACING. “The partnership with Equine MediRecord and the collection of this data is a tool that we can use to protect the safety and well-being of horses.”

The Irish company whose technology is fast becoming the global standard for equine sport organizers has already amassed an impressive list of clients and users including the Thoroughbred Owners of California, Irish Veterinary and Welfare Commission, Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, the Arabian Racing Organisation, Breeders' Cup World Championships and the Saudi Cup.

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