CITY OF LIGHT CONCLUDED HIS CAREER IN WINNNG THE PEGASUS WORLD CUP
Photo Credit: Joe Metz / Coglianese Photos
The Pegasus World Cup was run for the third time on Jan. 29, 2019 at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. The purse was $9 million with $4 million for the winning horse: City of Light ridden by Javier Castellano and trained by W. M. McCarthy.
The two main contenders were City of Light, the winner of the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, and Accelerate, the winner of the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Accelerate finished third behind City of Light and Seeking the Soul, a 30-1 longshot. It was the final race for City of Light and Accelerate. They will be retired to stud.
A heavy rain fell during the race which caused the track to be sloppy.
“City Light broke well from post 3, and Castellano punched Guiding City of Light to the outside behind early leader Patternrecogntiion, Castellano tapped the brakes and settled in to stalk the pace, hoping to save energy for the battle to the finish. If the downpour and condition of the track had been a worry before the race, any doubts Castellano felt were soon put to rest when he realized City of Light was actually enjoying the slop and playing with his competition.” Source: Meredith Daugherty, City of Light Romps in Pegasus World Cup (Bloodhorse — Jan. 26, 2019).
“Approaching the stretch . . . Accelerate challenged for the lead and came within a length and a half of City of Light before the eventual winner found his final gear and kicked for home.” (Source: Daugherty.)
City of Light won the race by 5-3/4 lengths over the late-closing Seeking the Soul, which finished 1-1/2 lengths ahead of Accelerate.
“Accelerate . . . never fired in the stretch run.” Source: Tim Reynolds, City of Light wins $9 million Pegasus World Cup (Associated Press — Jan. 26, 2019). “Accelerate . . faded late in the stretch to be overtaken on the inside by Seeking the Soul.” Source: Gary Martin, 2019 Pegasus World Cup Results: City of Light Wins, Seeking the Soul Places, and Accelerate Shows (Forbes — Jan. 26, 2019).
City of Light returned $5.80 to win, $4.20 to place and $3 to show. Seeking the Soul paid $19.20 to place and $8.20 to show. Accelerate, the 3-2 favorite, paid $2.80 to show.
Bravazo was fourth, Audible was fifth and Gunnevera was sixth. Other horses in the race were True Timber, Imperative, Tom’s d’Etat, Something Awesome, Kukulkan and Patternrecognition.
Accelerate ended his career with six wins in eight races. Both losses came to City of Light. Accelerate’s wins included the Grade I Gold Cup at Santa Anita Stakes, Pacific Classic Stakes and Awesome Again Stakes. He also won the Grade II 2017 Gill San Diego Handicap by beating Arrogate, a two-time winner of the Breeders’ Cup Classic (2016 and 2017) and the winner of the first Pegasus World Cup (2017) and the Dubai World Cup (2017).
City of Light never finished worse third in his career; his record was 6-4-1 including wins in the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes, Triple Bend Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile.
The 2018 race was won by Gun Runner, ridden by Florent Geux and trained by Steven M. Asmussen. Arrogate, ridden by Mike Smith and trained by Bob Baffert, won the inaugural Pegasus World Cup in 2017.
The Pegasus World Cup is the richest race in North America. It is named for the mythical horse, Pegasus. There is a 110-foot statute of Pegasus at Gulfstream Park.
THE $30 MILLION BRONZE AND STEEL SCULPTURE OF PEGASUS AT GULFSTREAM PARK IS 11 STORIES HIGH
Photo Credit: Gulfstream Park
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