The ninth running of the Grade 1, $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational, which will be run on Saturday (Jan 25), drew a final field of 12 that includes morning-line favourite Locked and a filly Power Squeeze.
The field has total earnings of $22.6 million, and that includes seven horses with more than $1 million in career earnings. There are seven Grade 1 winners and four with a Grade 2 victory.
Todd Pletcher and Brad Cox will try to win the Pegasus for the second time. Pletcher got a victory in 2022 with Life is Good, and Cox was a winner in 2021 with Knicks Go. Pletcher and Saffie Joseph Jr. each have two horses in this year’s field.
Here is the odds and analysis for the 1 1/8-mile Pegasus World Cup with the official track-morning line odds.
1 - Mixto, 10-1. Good Magic – Doug O’Neill / Frankie Dettori – 16: 2-2-5 - $794,180. Mixto won the Pacific Classic (G1) in August at Del Mar while pressing the pace in an eight-horse field. He is projected to be tracking the early leader and faces a class challenge in the Pegasus. Toss.
2 - Saudi Crown, 9-2. Always Dreaming – Brad Cox / Florent Geroux – 12: 6-2-1 - $3,130,985. Saudi Crown became a Grade 1 winner in the Pennsylvania Derby with a front-end trip and had an early lead in all of his victories except his maiden score. Timeform shows him loose on the lead in a field with an overall neutral pace. He gets the right pace scenario.
3 - Newgrange, 20-1. Violence – Jose D’Angelo / Emisael Jaramillo – 15: 7-0-4 - $1,014,134. Newgrange won the San Pasqual (G2) in January while racing on the lead although his win in the 2023 edition came from a stalking position. He has not run since July, changes barns and faces a significant class challenge. Toss.
4 - White Abarrio 3-1. Race Day – Saffie Joseph Jr. / Irad Ortiz Jr. – 19: 8-2-3 - $5,241,850. White Abarrio is a confirmed stalker whose big Grade 1 wins in the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Classic and Met Mile came from not far behind the pace setter. Win contender.
5 - Crupi 15-1. Curlin – Todd Pletcher / Luis Saez – 19: 5-4-5 - $1,169,000. Crupi is a late runner that Timeform describes as a plodder. He comes from far behind, which he did to win the Suburban (G2) in June at Saratoga, finish third in the Pegasus World Cup last year and second in the Whitney (G1). Use underneath.
6 - Stronghold 10-1. Ghostzapper – Philip D’Amato / Antonio Fresu – 10: 3-6-0 - $1,128,000. Stronghold heads to the Pegasus with three second-place finishes in a row in the Indiana Derby (G3), Pennsylvania Derby and Malibu (G1). Along with his victory in the Santa Anita Derby (G1), Stronghold has run from mid-pack and is projected to do so in the Pegasus. Win contender.
7 - Steal Sunshine 30-1. Constitution – Robert Dibona / Dylan Davis – 25: 7-2-7 - $612,160. Steal Sunshine will face a big class test and just does not seem fast enough. His last stakes victory was in March in the Gulfstream Park Mile (G2) when he rallied from last in a five-horse field. Toss.
8 - Vitality 50-1. Street Boss – Harold Ladoucer / Rajiv Maragh – 12: 2-2-1 - $272,620. Vitality won the Prince of Wales, the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, by four lengths with a rally from the middle of the field. He will try to win his first graded stakes in the Pegasus. Toss.
9 - Mystik Dan 8-1. Goldencents – Ken McPeek / Brian Hernandez Jr. – 10: 3-2-1 - $4,161,860. Mystik Dan will try to get his first victory since the Kentucky Derby, which he won when he rallied from eighth to win by a nose. His win in the Southwest (G3) also was from mid-pack. He will need to improve from his sixth-place finish in the Malibu (G1). Toss.
10 - Skippylongstocking 10-1. Exaggerator – Saffie Joseph Jr. / Tyler Gaffalione – 28: 9-3-5 - $3,092,985. Skippylongstocking is successful when he is on the lead or pressing the pace. He was last seen running sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile when he couldn’t get close to the lead. Although he seems to fall short in Grade 1 races, he had graded-stakes victories last year in the Charles Town Classic (G2), Oaklawn Handicap (G2) and Challenger (G3). He is likely to try to get close to the lead in the Pegasus from the outside. Toss.
11 - Locked 5-2. Gun Runner – Todd Pletcher / John Velazquez – 6: 4-0-2 - $935,650. Locked is the most lightly raced horse in the field, but as the winner of four of six starts he is the morning-line favorite. Locked impressed in the 2023 Breeders’ Futurity (G1) and then was third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. After a year away from the races, he won both starts in 2024, which were at Aqueduct against older horses in an allowance and the Cigar Mile (G2). Locked is another one who got his big wins rallying from mid-pack The one to beat.
12 - Power Squeeze 30-1. Union Rags – Jorge Delgado / Javier Castellano – 12: 6-2-1 - $937,450. Power Squeeze is the only filly in the Pegasus field. Last summer, she had narrow victories in the Delaware Oaks (G3) and the Alabama (G1) while racing from the back of the field. Against the boys in this Grade 1 she is projected to be a deep closer. Toss.
Summary: The 2025 Pegasus is viewed to have a neutral pace scenario with most of the horses preferring to sit off the early leaders in their past races.
Timeform projects that Saudi Crown has a chance to get loose on the lead, which would make him a win contender. The 5-year-old has fallen short in big races against older horses, so it is hard to trust him.
White Abarrio, Stronghold and Locked all are win contenders who will be making a late run from a mid-pack position. Locked has a chance to stamp himself as a leader of the older male division if he can run another big race. He will be challenged if Saffie Joseph has White Abarrio at the top of his game. With that in mind, Locked is still the top choice.
