Nicole Thomas photo
National Treasure Gives Baffert Third Pegasus World Cup Triumph
Getting a picture-perfect ride from Flavien Prat, National Treasure tracked pace-setting Hoist the Gold into the stretch, took command inside the three-sixteenths pole, then had enough left to hold off a fast-closing Senor Buscador by a neck to win Saturday's Grade 1, $3-million Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.
Owned by the partnership of SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Robert Masterson, Stonestreet Stables, Jay Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital and Catherine Donovan, National Treasure – a 4-year-old colt by Quality Road bred in Kentucky by Peter E. Blum Thoroughbreds – is trained by Bob Baffert, who was winning the Pegasus World Cup for the third time. Baffert sent out Arrogate to win the inaugural Pegasus in 2017 (it had previously been run as the Donn Handicap) and Mucho Gusto in 2020.
National Treasure, winner of the G1 Preakness last year and beaten a nose by 2023 Horse of the Year Cody's Wish in the G1 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, covered 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.51 and paid $7.20 to win as the 5-2 co-favorite with First Mission.
Senor Buscador finished second, with Crupi 4 1/2 lengths back in third, and Hoist the Gold another 6 1/4 lengths back in fourth. They were followed by O'Connor, Il Miracolo, dynamic One, Nimitz Class, First Mission, Trademark, and Grand Aspen. Skippylongstocking was pulled up by Tyler Gaffalione after being rushed up to attempt to contest the early pace. According to Daily Racing Form, Gaffalione said the 5-year-old multiple graded stakes winner "got weak" on him and may have been affected by the hot, humid weather in South Florida. He was vanned off.
Hoist the Gold, coming off a dominating front-running victory in the G2 Cigar Mile Dec. 2, seized the early advantage after breaking from the four post under John Velazquez, who had ridden National Treasure in most of his previous races, including the Preakness. National Treasure, who left from the seven post, rushed up to be alongside Hoist the Gold entering the first turn, then settled just off his flank, the opening quarter mile going in :23.18.
Those two continued to lead the pack in the run down the backstretch, the half-mile in :46.32 and six furlongs in 1:11.21. No one else made a run at the leaders as they rounded the turn, though Junior Alvarado had Senor Buscador mounting his charge from the back of the pack, picking off runners one by one.
As the field straightened away for the stretch run, Prat asked National Treasure for his best, and he quickly put away Hoist the Gold, opening up a clear lead passing the furlong marker in 1:37.07 for the mile split. Senor Buscador was in full flight after swinging wide into the lane, but Prat had enough horsepower left to hold off the 6-year-old Mineshaft horse and secure the victory.
“It's very hard to come from way back on this track," Alvarado said of Senor Buscador, who won the G2 San Diego Handicap at Del Mar last summer with a last-to-first move. "But I was happy when he was picking it up and I'm excited. But I could feel the last sixteenth of a mile he was getting tired from making that huge run from the back. My horse ran his eyeballs out. He gave me a helluva run. He gave me everything he had today. My horse ran his heart out today.”
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As for the winner, "I'm proud of him," said Baffert, who did not attend the Pegasus but spoke to the Gulfstream Park media office by telephone after the race. "He ran his race. He showed up. That's all you can ask for as a trainer. he was prepping well for it. I always thought he was that good a horse. He was just very immature and he's getting better and better, the way he's been training. He trained much better than he was going into the Breeders' Cup. We felt good about it, but you still need a lot of luck. You have to ship well. You have to break well.
"I knew there was going to be a hot pace and Prat and I we talked about it," Baffert continued. "You can't take his speed away. You can't be worried about one horse. Just let him do his thing and he did. That's why he won.
"He's a smart rider," Baffert said of Prat. "We picked different scenarios. I said, 'The only scenario is when the gate comes open, you've just got to get away from there. We know that Johnny (Velazquez) is going to be really aggressive and you need to be aggressive also.' He did and he was in a good spot.
"I knew they were flying but when I saw :23 and change, I said, 'That's manageable.' good horses, they keep running."
"This horse, what he did today, sitting off a horse, showed a new dimension," said Tom Ryan of co-owner SF Racing. "He's going to be a very nice 4-year-old. Bob always said that to me, whatever he's done at 2, there will be more at 3 and a lot more at 4.
"Winning a Pegasus to me is very important on this stallion's resume going forward,' Ryan added. "When you think about the first three winners – Arrogate, Gun Runner, City of Light and Life Is Good has won recently – they're pretty good examples of how this is fastly becoming a stallion-making race. I think that also goes on National Treasure's resume."
Produced from the Medaglia d'Oro mare Treasure, National Treasure was a $500,000 yearling purchase from the Bridie Harrison consignment at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Yearling Sale. The Pegasus was the third win in 11 starts for National Treasure, who finished third behind Forte in the 2022 Breeders' Cup Juvenile, was a classic winner at 3 and is now a G1 winner at 4.
The partnership group that owns National Treasure said that no specific race has been selected for his next start. On Sunday morning, Senor Buscador's trainer, Todd Fincher, told Mike Welsch of Daily Racing Form he received a call from a racing official in Saudi Arabia inviting the Pegasus runner-up to the Feb. 24 Saudi Cup and that the owners, as of now, are inclined to go. The Saudi Cup offers a record $20 million purse and is run at 1 1/8 miles around one turn.
