Favourites split by barrier draw in the 2017 Pegasus World Cup
THEY may be the only two horses that will enter the inaugural Pegasus World Cup under double figures at Sportsbet.com.au, but Arrogate ($2.25) and California Chrome ($2.50) will have to overcome very different draws heading into the US$12 million race.
Arrogate – which sits atop the Longines world’s best racehorse rankings – will start from gate one, while the horse that was recently named the horse of the year in America for a second time, California Chrome, will start from the outside barrier for the feature event in Florida this Sunday.
#CaliforniaChrome draws the 12the post while rival #Arrogate draws the first. Good luck to all of the stakeholders. #PegasusWorldCup pic.twitter.com/Rt4H5E4NzN
— Pegasus World Cup (@PegasusWorldCup) January 23, 2017
The Group 1 Pegasus World Cup will be the first time the pair have locked horns on a racetrack since Arrogate bested California Chrome to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
California Chrome’s trainer Art Sherman said the car-park draw will not be a problem for his superstar horse.
“We won’t be in the starting gate for long,” Sherman said after the barrier draw.
“Chrome’s Chrome. He’s got tactical speed. I was hoping that we might get closer inside, but he’s going to overcome all this, believe me.”
Jockey Victor Espinoza was widely criticised for his ride on Chrome in the Breeders’ Cup Classic when he elected to survey the field and push the button too early on the horse, but Sherman has no concerns that he will be ready to steer his elect to glory on Sunday
“It’s hard to give Victor [Espinoza] any instructions. He has ridden the horse so many times, so many graded races.
“I don’t think he will be looking around as much as he did in the Breeders’ Cup. I told him, ‘This is The Last of the Mohicans’.”
Australian punters wanting to watch the inaugural running of the Group 1 Pegasus World Cup can watch on free-to-air television on Racing.com or on subscription television on Sky Racing 1 from 8.30 am (AEDST)
2017 Pegasus World Cup Betting Market
Odds provided by Sportsbet.com.au
Arrogate $2.25
Gun Runner $11
Connect $15
Keen Ice $21
Hoppertunity $21
Neolithic $26
Shaman Ghost $34
Eragon $34
Stanford $51
War Story $51