Gulfstream Park Horse Racing Picks: Pegasus World Cup Day, 1/25/25

Gulfstream Park hosts its flagship Pegasus World Cup on Saturday, January 25. The Grade 1, $3 million race draws a host of the nation’s best handicap horses, and serves as the anchor of a card with 10 stakes races in all. The 13-race card gets underway at 11:00 a.m. Eastern, 8:00 a.m. Pacific, and there will be big fields and class horses all day long.

Don’t forget to check the program for scratches and track condition on race day. As of midweek, Saturday is supposed to be clear and beautiful, though the weather can change at any time. If a surprise shower blows in, you can always check the program for horses who have run well on off tracks before, or who have excellent mud pedigrees. For example, Speightstown, Ghostzapper, and Candy Ride are old, reliable mud sires, and stallions like Not This Time, Army Mule, and Liam’s Map are newer producers of off-track runners.

Gulfstream Park Picks

Race 8 Fred W. Hooper (G3), one mile on dirt - Upstanding, Little Vic

FanDuel odds: 5-1 and 6-1

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This is a case of short-priced horses with serious questions. Tumbarumba is the class of the field and will likely be bet down to favoritism, but he has been second in five of his last six starts, and six of his last eight. He almost always comes close, meaning he is a reliable key in the underneath rungs of exotics. Go ahead and backwheel him in exactas, key him underneath (or even just in second, given his local form) in deeper exotics—but he will be an underlay on top.

Rocket Can will take serious betting interest as well, and there’s no doubt he likes the local course. But, he has been more effective at two turns than one. All his wins have come at either a mile or 1 1/16 miles going two turns, whereas he has been an underneath type at one-turn trips.

Upstanding (5-1) steps into stakes company for the first time, and, in fact faces winners for the first time. But, he shapes as the speed of the speed, and he put it all together last out—his first time at Gulfstream—over the one-turn mile. Jockey Luis Saez is a plus, as well: he knows Gulfstream well, and he is aggressive enough to take full advantage of his mount’s natural speed.

Little Vic (6-1) got ignored on the tote board last out in the Mr. Prospector with Pegasus contender White Abarrio in the field, but ran a gaining third at 71-1. He has hit the board in three of his four outings at Gulfstream, trainer Juan Avila shines with horses coming second off a layoff, and even though he has never gone a mile, he has enough stamina in his pedigree to suggest he will thrive.

Race 11: Inside Information (G2), seven furlongs on dirt - Emery, Olivia Darling

FanDuel odds: 3-1 and 4-1

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Tactical speed from the outside is a gem in seven-furlong sprints at Gulfstream Park, which is good news for Emery (3-1). Though she faces older company for the first time, her form against sophomores last year was fast enough to stack up with the fillies and mares lining up for this race. She thrives over extended-sprint trips like this, and though she has never run at Gulfstream Park, she has never lost over a fast track. Expect this Brad Cox trainee to show up sharp and get the right trip.

The Gulfstream Park horse is a phenomenon: there are many horses who run their best on the dirt at Gulfstream but don’t always bring that top form elsewhere. That’s bad news elsewhere, but great news when they’re back home. Enter Olivia Darling (4-1), the defending champion in this race. She was well beaten in two starts away from home last spring and summer, but bounced right back to her good home-track form in a top-shelf allowance over this course and distance in November. The post is also good, too; she drew second from the outside and has the tactical pace to take advantage.

Race 13: Pegasus World Cup (G1), 1 ⅛ miles on dirt - Stronghold, White Abarrio

FanDuel odds: 10-1 and 3-1

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Although he’s taking his first shot against older horses, Stronghold (10-1) is just the kind of horse who should be ready to step up. He is a consistent runner who can show up at any track he ships off to. He has tactical speed, a big plus at Gulfstream Park. And, though he was defeated in his final prep, it was a seven-furlong race, a proven sprint horse beat him, and now he stretches back out to a trip at which he is a Grade 1 winner.

White Abarrio (3-1) won the Breeders’ Cup Classic in 2023, and though he had a disappointing 2024, he appears to be rounding back into his better form. He has prepared with two seven-furlong races over the local course, and now stretches back out to the same distance at which he won the Florida Derby (G1) in 2022. He got a poor start in the Mr. Prospector (G3) last out, but if he comes away better from a very good draw, he has the stamina, tactical speed, and Gulfstream Park affinity to figure from start to finish.

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