Pegasus World Cup Odds and Post Positions
By Richard Rosenblatt
Bodexpress
Now that he’s a 4-year-old colt, maybe, just maybe Bodexpress has learned how to behave at the start of a race.
The unpredictable Bodexpress lost his first seven races, then finished 13th in the Kentucky Derby (G1) as a maiden. Two weeks later, he unseated Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez as the gates opened for the Preakness (G1) and ran with the field the entire race. Five months later, he broke his maiden at Gulfstream Park West, then set a track record there in winning an allowance race, but in last month’s Harlan’s Holiday (G3), he reared up and broke open the gate, sat down briefly before being backed out and reloaded, and had the lead until fading in the stretch and hanging on for third.
Whoa.
Now, he’s hopefully ready to go again, this time in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup (G1) at Gulfstream Park on Saturday. Bodexpress drew the outside No. 12 post (maybe a good thing), and will be ridden by Emisael Jaramillo for local-based trainer Gustavo Delgado. The colt breezed 5 furlongs in 1:04.20 at Gulfstream Park West on Jan. 21.
After the Harlan’s Holiday, Delgado’s son, Gustavo Jr., said with better pre-race behavior, the feeling is if everything goes well from there, Bodexpress could win a big race.
This would be the one. It should be noted that Bodexpress ran second to Maximum Security in the Florida Derby (G1) at Gulfstream Park, which earned him enough qualifying points to run at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May.
Bodexpress
Odds: 30-1
Post position: No. 12
Jockey: Emisael Jaramillo
Trainer: Gustavo Delgado
Owners: Top Racing, Global Thoroughbred, and GDS Racing
Career record: 10-2-3-1
Career earnings: $264,000
Pedigree: Bodemeister-Pied A Terre (City Zip)
Age: 4
Handicapping insights:
“Who knows with this guy? A clean break could see him up front for a piece of the pie.’’ – Ed McNamara
“Lacks any consistency but seems to possess talent and a finish in the back end of the exotics is not out of the question.” – Noel Michaels
Notes: Has been working at Gulfstream Park West, with most recent breeze on Jan. 21, 5 furlongs in 1:04.20 … Gustavo Delgado began training in North American in 2002, but totaled on 18 starts through 2012 with five winners … Beginning in 2014, the popular trainer from Venezuela has saddled 210 winners from 1,386 starts for earnings of more than $7 million … He won the 2016 Test Stakes (G1) at Saratoga with Paola Queen at odds of 55-1 ($112 on a $2 win bet) – the longest shot in the in the field.
| PP | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | ML |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | True Timber | Joe Bravo | Kiaran McLaughlin | 15-1 |
| 2 | Tax | Jose Ortiz | Danny Gargan | 8-1 |
| 3 | Diamond Oops | Julien Leparoux | Patrick Biancone | 15-1 |
| 4 | Seeking the Soul | John Velazquez | Dallas Stewart | 30-1 |
| 5 | Omaha Beach (SCR) | Mike Smith | Richard Mandella | SCR |
| 6 | Higher Power | Flavien Prat | John Sadler | 6-1 |
| 7 | War Story | Joel Rosario | Elizabeth Dobles | 30-1 |
| 8 | Mr Freeze | Luis Saez | Dale Romans | 20-1 |
| 5 | Spun to Run (SCR) | Javier Castellano | Juan Carlos Guerrero | SCR |
| 10 | Mucho Gusto | Irad Ortiz, Jr. | Bob Baffert | 9-2 |
| 11 | Tenfold | Tyler Gaffalione | Steve Asmussen | 30-1 |
| 12 | Bodexpress | Emisael Jaramillo | Gustavo Delgado | 30-1 |
Find more Pegasus World Cup Picks and Pegasus World Cup Turf Entries Profile here:
Over the years while working at The Associated Press, Rich Rosenblatt became a familiar name to legions of the horse racing fans and industry insiders with his award-winning articles on horse racing and his stories from the backstretch.
In addition to being an astute observer of sports, Rosenblatt is the co-author of The All-American Chili Cookbook. His work has been seen in just about every publication in the world, including The New York Times, The Washington Post and Time Magazine.