Warm Heart could provide a heartwarming finish to a brilliant career as the 9-5 favorite in the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1) at Gulfstream Park.
The Turf Invitational is the top supporting event on the stakes-laden card topped by the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1).
It will be very easy to root for Warm Heart, a globe-trotting 4-year-old filly taking on the boys while making her final start before embarking on a new career as a broodmare. And what a career it’s been in only 10 races! She has already logged Group 1 wins in England (the Yorkshire Oaks) and France (Prix Vermeille).
Her previous trip to the U.S. was in November, a crushing defeat by only a neck in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1) at Santa Anita.
California was then the jumping-off point for her most recent effort: a third-place finish against males in the Hong Kong Vase (G1) at Sha Tin.
And now the finale.
Warm Heart’s Historic Bid: Aiming to Make Racing History in Challenging Renewal
Warm Heart bids to become the first filly to capture this race and add a nice paycheck to a bankroll that already exceeds $1.6 million.
“It’s always a very good renewal,” said Chris Armstrong, the racing secretary for Irish-champion trainer Aiden O’Brien. “It’s a tough race to win. It would be terrific to go out on a winning note.”
From a handicapping perspective, the only knock against Warm Heart is the distance. She is a classic runner who thrives at 1 1/4 miles and longer. This is only 1 1/8 miles.
“It is a little short,” Armstrong conceded. “In an ideal world, we would prefer a fraction further. If there’s a good tempo in the race, it should suit her.”
While Warm Heart wraps up her career, Integration is just getting started for trainer Shug McGaughey. The 4-year-old is a perfect 3-for-3 thus far following his win in the Hill Prince (G2) at Aqueduct.
“It’s a big step up,” McGaughey said of the 3-1 second choice. “We’ve got to get him going and get him started somewhere and this was kind of the next step.”
While Warm Heart and Integration will both be well supported by bettors, we are always on the hunt for hidden value, and we may have uncovered it in Kingmax at 12-1. He started his career in Europe before transitioning to the U.S. and into the barn of Jorge Delgado.
He’s run four times since the switch and three were excellent efforts. The only disappointment was a dull run over the synthetic surface at Woodbine in the Seagram Cup (G2). He’s on the turf on his home course, and that makes him a live play at a nice price.
NBC will provide live coverage from 4:30 p.m.-6 p.m. ET.
THE PICKS: 1 Warm Heart 2 Kingmax 3 Integration
The field for the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1), from the rail out, with jockey, trainer, odds:
1 Atone (Oisin Murphy, Mike Maker), 20-1
2 Jerry the Nipper (Jose Ortiz, Todd Pletcher), 20-1
3 Integration (Tyler Gaffalione, Shug McGaughey), 3-1
4 I’m Very Busy (Irad Ortiz, Jr., Chad Brown), 15-1
5 Webslinger (Edgard Zayas, Mark Casse), 15-1
6 Kingmax (David Egan, Jorge Delgado), 12-1
7 Adhamo (Flavien Prat, Chad Brown), 12-1
8 Master Piece (Jose Lezcano, Skip Dutrow), 8-1
9 Warm Heart (Ryan Moore, Aiden O’Brien), 9-5
10 Shirl Speight (Luis Saez, Roger Attfield), 15-1
11 Main Event (Javier Castellano, George Weaver), 10-1
12 Catnip (Frankie Dettori, Michael Stidham), 15-1
AE: Grand Sonata (Tyler Gaffalione, Todd Pletcher), 20-1
AE: Anglophile (John Velazquez, Brian Lynch), 30-1