Skippylongstocking raced 1 1/8 miles on a fast main track for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. under jockey Tyler Gaffalione in 1.48.49 and paid $45.20 for a $2 win bet. Skippylongstocking’s Saffie Joseph-trained stablemate White Abarrio finished 1 3/4 lengths behind in second place. Full Serrano finished third.
Skippylongstocking finally recorded his first Grade 1 win after previously making 35 starts and earning $3.7 million. He also emerged from the shadow of the other 7-year-old in Joseph’s stable, White Abarrio, who won the Pegasus World Cup last year after also winning high-profile races such as the Breeders’ Cup Classic, Whitney Stakes and Florida Derby earlier in his career. The odds said it all about the pecking order with White Abarrio at 3-1 on the board and Skippylongstocking at 21-1.
“He deserved it,” Joseph said of Skippylongstocking. “Skippy has run fast enough to win a Grade 1, but he never did, and people will beat you if you don’t get a Grade 1 win. Now he has one.”
Joseph said a trip to the $12 million Dubai World Cup could be in the cards next for Skippylongstocking, and with the Pegasus designated as a Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series event for the first time, he also earned a free spot in the $7 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic this fall.
But for all the drama that came with Skippylongstocking’s victory, Joseph’s performance was especially overwhelming by White Abarrio.
“Down the stretch I was hoping White Abarrio would win,” Joseph said. “I’m sorry to say it, but I’m telling you the truth.”
Gulfstream is usually friendly to early speed around two corners, but Skippylongstocking rallied from ninth to twelve.
Disco Time, the 3-2 favorite in the 10th running of the Pegasus, posted early fractions of :22.25, :46.08 and 1:09.87, but halfway through the final turn White Abarrio and Irad Ortiz Jr. forward and started to pull away. He led by one and a half lengths down the stretch, while his stablemate mounted the only serious attack. Gaffalione got Skippylongstocking to the front, left the sixteenth pole and finished the 1 1/8 miles first in 1:48.49.
“Everything went according to plan,” Gaffalione said.
Full Serrano finished 5 1/2 lengths behind White Abarrio in third place. Disco Time finished eighth and suffered its first loss in six career starts.
Skippylongstocking’s career earnings now stand at $5,461,250.
A Pegasus Day record $48,558,149 was wagered on Gulfstream’s 13-race card, a big jump from last year’s $41,700,225.
Test Score outpaced stablemate One Stripe to give trainer Graham Motion a 1-2 finish in the $1 million Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes Jan. 24 at Gulfstream Park. Test Score, who finished his second season leading the class in the 3-year-old turf division, made his 4-year-old debut in the Pegasus Turf.
A three-time stakes winner last year as a three-year-old, Test Score bounced back from a close third in the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby in his final start of 2025 when traffic problems hampered his finish and he settled for third. He faced no such challenges on Saturday in the 1 1/8-mile Pegasus Turf, where he spent much of the race in fourth place, saving ground in both corners as Cabo Spirit pushed the pace while leading clear by fractions of :23.71, :47.23 and 1:10.58.
Waved goodbye by jockey Manny Franco as he entered the stretch, Test Score defeated his rivals after taking over from Cabo Spirit midway through the stretch. Test Score hit the front and had enough to fend off One Stripe, who was previously champion miler in South Africa. He won by a neck in 1:47.04 for the distance on firm grass.
“I mean, both horses ran great,” Motion said. “Manny gave Test Score the perfect trip today.”
Almendares, a Southern California consignor for trainer Phil D’Amato, was third, a length behind the runner-up. Astronomer came fourth. Favorite Program Trading, who shot into the course through a huge gap on the rail, had no excuses and finished fifth.
Test Score earned his biggest payday on Saturday by collecting a winner’s share of $516,000 in the purse. That increases his career earnings to $2,000,525, achieved with a 5-3-3 record in 13 starts. He paid $17.20 to win.
Motion said Test Score would get a well-deserved break after a long campaign for much of his three-year season leading to the Pegasus. He also expressed his excitement for what will be seen from One Stripe this year. –Byron King
Destino d’Oro improved her record at Gulfstream Park to 2-for-2 with a come-from-behind victory in the $490,500 Grade 2 Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf Invitational Stakes presented by TAA on Jan. 24.
“She likes it here,” coach Brad Cox said. “She had a good setup and a good ride today. It turned out well.”
In her first start against older fillies and mares on Saturday, Destino d’Oro was pushed back to 11th and later gradually moved into contention under jockey Junior Alvarado. Turning to ninth in a field of 12, Alvarado tapped out and charged forward with a rush, beating the late rallies of Crevalle d’Oro and Movin’ On Up to win by half a length in 1:40.33. She paid $33.20 to win.
“I couldn’t believe how much horse I had under me,” Alvarado said. “She came up with a great run at the end.”
Her second score was the fifth lifetime win in eight starts for Destino d’Oro, who increased her career earnings to $829,884. –Sean Collins
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