Gunnevera Breezes 'Very Well,' Aims For Pegasus Prep In Harlan's Holiday
Gunnevera prior to the 2017 Breeders' Cup
Margoth’s multiple graded-stakes winner Gunnevera breezed for the first time Sunday morning at Gulfstream Park West since dead-heating for fifth with Arrogate in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) Nov. 4.
Under jockey Edgard Zayas, the sophomore son of Dialed In went five furlongs in 1:02.15 for trainer Antonio Sano, who plans to give Gunnevera his 4-year-old debut in the world’s richest horse race, the $16 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) Jan. 27 at Gulfstream Park. Arrogate won the inaugural Pegasus this past January.
“He went the last furlong in 11 [seconds] exactly. The horse did very well,” Sano said. “He galloped out [six furlongs] in 1:14 and [2 /5]. I was very happy with the way he went. Everything was perfect.”
Sano said he is planning to use the $100,000 Harlan’s Holiday (G3) for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/16 miles Dec. 16 at Gulfstream as a springboard to the Pegasus. Three of Gunnevera’s five career wins, including the Fountain of Youth (G2) and Tangelo Stakes, have come at Gulfstream, where he also ran second in the Holy Bull (G2) and third in the Florida Derby (G1).
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“He is going to run in the Harlan’s Holiday and then the Pegasus,” Sano said. “The horse is doing very well right now.”
Sano unveiled an exciting prospect in Cairoli Racing Stable and The 3 Maria’s Racing Stable’s Santiamen, another Florida-bred son of Dialed In that romped by 6 ¾ lengths in a 5 ½-furlong maiden special weight Friday at Gulfstream Park West.
Santiamen, whose name means ‘in a flash’ in Spanish, ran the distance in 1:06.15 and earned himself a start in the $75,000 Smooth Air for 2-year-olds going one mile Dec. 9 at Gulfstream Park.
“We were very impressed with the race,” Sano said. “I thought he looked solid and we hoped he would win, but we didn’t think he would win that easy. In his last three works he had a bullet every time. He did a good job.”
Santiamen was bought for $37,000 as a 2-year-old in training in March, evoking memories of Gunnevera, a $16,000 yearling purchase in 2015 that has gone on to win more than $1.6 million in purse earnings from 14 starts.
“We thank God for finding the horse, another Dialed In. It’s exciting,” Sano said. “We hope for much with this horse.”
