For What It's Worth, Pegasus Is a Two-Horse Rumble

A purse of $3 million for a match race is a pretty attractive proposition, especially when the two Thoroughbreds involved are as good as Knicks Go and Life Is Good. Their first—and last—collision in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes Presented by 1/ST BET (G1) Jan. 29 at Gulfstream Park will be worth every tick of the 107 seconds or so it takes them to resolve their differences over the 1 1/8 miles on dirt. What the two principals win from the guaranteed purse will not be known until each of the seven runners in supporting roles has crossed the finish line. In a formula that rivals the Da Vinci Code, prize money distribution will be determined by who runs where. Incentives are written into the conditions of the race to lure horses of graded race accomplishments, dating from Jan. 1, 2021. To wit: "After a payment of $50,000 to owners of grade 1 and grade 2 stakes winners in 2021-22 and $25,000 to graded stakes-placed horses in 2021-22 that finish sixth through 10th, the remaining purse will be divided 60% to the owner of the winner, 20% to second, 10% to third, 5% to fourth, and 3% to fifth, with 2% donated to Thoroughbred Aftercare." Translation: If for some reason Chess Chief, winner of the 2021 New Orleans Classic (G2), can finish no better than sixth, his owner, the estate of James J. Coleman Jr., will receive that cool 50-grand for just showing up. On the other hand, Stilleto Boy, Sir Winston, Endorsed, and Title Ready bring lesser graded stakes credentials to the dance, which means if they do not finish in the top five on Saturday, they earn only $25,000 in appearance fees. As for the other two entrants—Empty Tomb and Commandeer—neither one meets the minimum requirements for appearance money past fifth place. So, sports fans, there's your entertaining race within a race. While Knicks Go and Life Is Good put on what should be a memorable display of raw speed and draw off into the south Florida twilight, the scramble behind them for Pegasus leftovers should be fascinating. And no matter what happens, the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance is in for a bump of just under $60,000. So, bravo. Does it need to be that complicated? Apparently it does, given the brief history of the Pegasus World Cup, which began in 2017 with a million-dollar buy-in from high-rolling owners who funded a $12 million purse along with a promise of downstream cash from TV rights that didn't come true. There was subsequent fiddling and fine-tuning of the purse and fee structure until, in 2020, the race settled into its present invitational status. If nothing else, the lack of depth in this year's Pegasus field should be a worry. For one reason or another, the connections of major race winners Flightline, Hot Rod Charlie, Mandaloun, Midnight Bourbon, Express Train, and Art Collector have steered their accomplished runners toward other targets. At the same time, a $3 million purse in late January was not enough to keep 2022 stallion rookies Maxfield, Essential Quality, and Independence Hall in training for one more start, which has been the only real game-changing impact made by the Pegasus. California Chrome, Gun Runner, Accelerate, and City of Light lingered to run, just like Knicks Go this time around. What the Pegasus really could use, though, is a running that is more of an old-fashioned throw-down than the usual tame parade. The winning margins of the previous versions have been by open lengths: 4 3/4, 2 1/2, 5 3/4, 4 1/2, and the score last year by Knicks Go of 2 3/4 lengths over Jesus' Team and Independence Hall. In every case, the winner effectively ended the drama with a furlong to run. As a stand-alone event, the Pegasus World Cup is still very much in its youth. However, nitpicking historians will note that the race basically devoured the old Donn Handicap, an event of noble lineage that had ascended to grade 1 status and thrived on the calendar for many years as the most logical pathway to success in the Dubai World Cup (G1). The Donn name, long associated with Gulfstream Park, was stricken from the landscape. That landscape is now dominated by the 12-story bronze parking lot statue of the mythological Pegasus, a divine creature that sprang from the blood of nasty Medusa as she was beheaded by the hero Perseus. Perseus, to say the least, was surprised. Usually depicted as a white horse with wings, Pegasus is considered either a symbol of the soul's immortality or a source of poetic inspiration. Take your pick. As far as Frank Stronach was concerned, his Pegasus represented both immortality and inspiration. Standing next to the former head of The Stronach Group at the base of the statue, a visitor in 2017 was blinded by the reflection from Stronach's beaming visage as he looked upon the bronze beasts like a child might behold his first Christmas morning. Barely two years later, Belinda Stronach was citing the Pegasus statue as evidence of her father's "declining mental state" as one of his "passion projects" draining the company's coffers. A suit and countersuit by family members were eventually settled out of court, detaching Frank Stronach from the company's racetrack interests. But the $55 million spent on the Pegasus project—10 times the original estimate—continues to loom large in company lore. Reportedly there is another Pegasus, full-sized and fierce, in storage somewhere in China, where the bronze was cast to specifications from a German design firm. Since Life Is Good is owned in part by the China Horse Club, a victory the Pegasus World Cup would seem to have a predestined flavor. Then again, Knicks Go is owned by the Korea Racing Authority, which is funded by the South Korean government, and it was only in December of 2021 that the two rival nations agreed in principle to officially end a state of war from their brutal conflict of 70 years ago. Hopefully, the idea of settling geopolitical strife with a horse race will catch on.