Following his success in the Breeders’ Cup Classic last month at Del Mar, Gun Runner is now considered as the best dirt horse in the world today. The four-year-old will get the opportunity to reaffirm that status when he lines up in the richest race on the planet, the Pegasus World Cup, next month.
Gun Runner started his run of four consecutive victories at Churchill Downs back in June where he made all over 1800m. He then showed his class at Saratoga over the same trip in the Whitney Stakes in which his margin of victory was over five lengths.
The distance between Gun Runner and his rivals when crossing the line in the Grade One Woodward Stakes was even bigger in September as he forged clear in the home straight to put ten lengths between himself and Rally Cry who was the best of the rest of the pack in second place.
Steven Asmussen horse’s biggest of his career came at Del Mar as not only was he taking on the defending champion Arrogate in the leading dirt race of the year, he also had to overcome West Coast and Collected. The son of Candy Ride rose to the challenge as he made all at the Californian track to establish himself as a superstar in the sport.
Gun Runner can be backed at horse racing betting odds of -160 to collect more prize money for his owners in the Pegasus World Cup. The race is an invitational and if he does manage to complete the big race double in the space of three months, he will have matched the feat of Arrogate who became the first horse to do back in January.
Collected Likely to Lead the Challenge Against Gun Runner
Collected was just over two lengths behind Gun Runner at Del Mar last month at the Breeders’ Cup meeting and connections will be hoping their horse can reverse that form when they meet at Gulfstream Park.
The defeat in the Classic was Collected’s first of 2017 as he had won on his previous four racecourse visits in the calendar year prior to his last outing. The highlight of the season so far was his victory in the Grade One Pacific Classic Stakes at Del Mar in August where he defeated Arrogate in the race.
Collected is second best in the Pegasus World Cup betting at +750 and if successful, he will earn his owners a large percentage of the $16 million purse on offer for the 12 runners.
Toast of New York Set for US Return
2014 Breeders’ Cup Classic runner-up Toast of New York is likely to make a return to action in the US in the 2018 Pegasus World Cup as the British trained horse made a return to action after just over three years off the track earlier this month when he scored at Lingfield Park.
The six-year-old had a spell at stud but connections opted to put their horse back in training just a few months ago. Toast of New York can be backed at +33000 to complete what would be one of the biggest comebacks in the history of the sport at the top level.
The 2018 Pegasus World Cup takes place on January 27 and the winner of the race could then travel to the UAE to compete in the Dubai World Cup in March.
