Program Trading Eyes Another Grade 1 in Pegasus Turf

As Chad Brown aims for his second straight victory in the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes (G1T), the trainer will turn to multiple grade 1 winner Program Trading (GB) in the 1 1/8-mile race for older horses Jan. 24 at Gulfstream Park. Program Trading added a grade 1 placing in an abbreviated campaign last year when he returned off of a year-plus layoff to capture the Bernard Baruch Stakes at Saratoga Race Course before finishing second in the Turf Mile Stakes (G1T) in October at Keeneland. He's the 5-2 morning-line favorite Saturday. Program Trading, who closed 2025 with an off-the-board finish in the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T), is campaigned by Klaravich Stables. In 2019 Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence's Bricks and Mortar, also trained by Brown, captured the Pegasus World Cup Turf to launch a six-race undefeated season that earned him Horse of the Year. Brown won last year's event with Madaket Stables, Michael Dubb, and Richard Schermerhorn's Spirit of St Louis. Program Trading, a Lope de Vega (IRE) ridgling, opens his 6-year-old campaign in search of a fourth top-level score after wins in the 2024 Turf Classic Stakes (G1T) at Churchill Downs as well as the 2023 Hollywood Derby (G1T) and Saratoga Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T). While the expected full field of 12 does not include any foreign-trained runners, it does feature South African-bred star One Stripe (SAF), who in January 2025 captured the King's Plate (G1) in his native country before being shipped to North America and trainer Graham Motion. While Hollywood Racing and Rikesh Sewgoolam's One Stripe finished off the board in his tough-ask initial two North American starts—the Woodbine Mile Stakes (G1T) and Breeders' Cup Mile—Motion believes a romp in a Dec. 26 allowance optional claiming race at Gulfstream serves the 5-year-old son of One World (SAF) well. "I think after the Breeders' Cup I was able to take a deep breath with him and kind of give him a chance to catch up and I think that really helped him," Motion said. "That allowance race just came at a really good time. He had one kind of easy work since the Breeders' Cup and then one proper work. Everything just fell into place. It was a great prep for him." Motion also will send out last year's Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T) winner Test Score, who drew the rail. Trainer Shug McGaughey has entered last year's Arlington Million Stakes (G1T) winner Fort Washington, who finished fifth in last year's Pegasus then in his next start won the Canadian Turf Stakes (G3T) on the Gulfstream course. "I had never won the Arlington Million so to win that was a lot of fun, and to get him a grade 1 win was a nice accomplishment," McGaughey said. "He came out of it fine, and we gave him a little bit of a break. I don't know that two months ago I really had this race on my radar, but he's come back and trained really well. "He's run really good over this track so it should be a pretty good spot for him." Racing Hall of Famer McGaughey also plans to start grade 2 winner Cugino, who received a Gulfstream prep when second in last month's Fort Lauderdale Stakes (G3T).