A full field has been assembled for Saturday’s Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park.
Fourteen horses are entered and 12 will run in the 1 1/8 dirt race with a purse of $16.3 million.
All eyes are focused on Gun Runner, the 4/5 morning line favorite. In 2017, Gun Runner won five of six starts and finished second in the Dubai World Cup to then ultra-sharp Arrogate. He avenged that defeat by thumping Arrogate later that year in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Have a look at the lineup.
Tonight Gun Runner should be named Horse of the Year at the 47th annual Eclipse Awards. This would be the fourth time a Steve Asmussen trainee has won top honors. Regardless of Saturday’s outcome, Gun Runner, now 5, will be retired to stud and begin his duties at Three Chimneys Farm next month.
Post time for the Pegasus, the final race of the day, is set for 4:35 p.m central. The stakes-laden 12-race program from Gulfstream begins at 10:30 a.m. and is not to be missed. Seven additional stakes are carded with purses totaling $1.275 million.
This is a gambler’s paradise as the pools will be huge. The Rainbow Pick 6 Jackpot continues to grow. The Thursday carryover is $3.2 million for the 20 cent base wager. Should there be no unique winner through Saturday, the pool will be a mandatory pay on Sunday (which of course you can and should wager at Canterbury Park).
On Saturday the Rainbow begins with race 7. Sweeping the pool is the dream but the reality is that just hitting six of six when others do as well can be lucrative. Last Friday a Canterbury player went six for six and cashed for $17,000. Yesterday in a fairly simple sequence six of six paid $630. Again, this is a 20 cent base wager.
Road to Kentucky Contest Continues
The Canterbury Park free-to-enter Road to Kentucky contest features the entire Saturday Gulfstream card. Don’t forget the early 10:30 am post as that is also deadline for the contest which pays $1,050 in weekly prizes to the best performers.
–By Jeff Maday
