BY BROCK SHERIDAN
Owner and trainer Jose Castro is taking a shot at the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (Grade 1) with Florida-bred Lightning Tones, who is entered Sunday and is first on the list of also eligibles with Tami Bobo’s Catalytic. There are a dozen 4-year-olds and older in the body of the mile-and-one-eighth contest set for Saturday at Gulfstream Park.
Should Lightning Tones draw in and start, he would be the fourth Florida-bred runner in ten editions of the Pegasus World Cup Invitional, joining Simplification (who finished tenth in 2023), Last Judgment (eighth in 2021) and Patternrecognition (twelfth in 2019).
Lightning Tones is a 6-year-old gelded son of Tonalist who has made every one of his 30 career starts at Gulfstream, including the last two runnings of the $75,000 Sunshine Classic versus Florida-breds. On Jan. 10, he defended his title in the mile-and-a-sixteenth contest by three-and-a-half lengths with jockey Jose Morelos, who is named to ride in the Pegasus should they make the race.
Castro claimed Lightning Tones for $16,000 out of an $8,000 starter allowance optional claiming going six furlongs in July of 2024. He has since won three of 10 starts with two seconds and three thirds while earning $205,735. Among those races was a victory in the $70,000 Black Diamond Cat overnight handicap in August, a second to Con Compania (Chi) in the $70,000 Mr. Jordan overnight handicap in October and a third in the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Mile presented by Domestic Product, two lengths behind winner Mindframe.
For his career, Lightning Tones has seven wins, seven seconds and six thirds while banking $377,085. He is out of Rosesandlightning, by Lightnin N Thunder and was bred in Florida by H & A Stables.
Lightning Tones is 50-1 on the morning line.
The 8-5 program favorite is Juddmonte’s Disco Time, who is undefeated in five starts for trainer Brad Cox.
Disco Time will make his first start since taking the $186,000 Dwyer by nearly 10 lengths going a mile at Aqueduct on Nov. 8. He also won the $250,000 St. Louis Derby presented by FanDuel Sportsbook at Fairmount Park in September and last year’s Lecomte at Fair Grounds.
Disco Time has post one and jockey Flavien Prat.
Defending Pegasus winner White Abarrio races for the first time since fifth in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup going a mile-and-a-quarter at Saratoga on Aug. 31. Trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., the 7-year-old son of Race Day has not won in three starts since taking the Grade 3 Mr. Prospector in December of 2024, last year’s Pegasus and the Grade 3 Ghostzapper in March in consecutive starts at Gulfstream.
White Abarrio is 4-1 on the morning line and will be ridden from post 11 by Irad Ortiz Jr.
Others set for the Pegasus are British Isles and jockey Diego Herrera, Full Serrano (Arg) with Joel Rosario up, Jose Ortiz is named on Banishing, Skippinglongstocking and rider Tyler Gaffalione, Mike Smith will guide Madaket Road, Tappan Street will be ridden by Luis Saez, Poster with Junior Alvarado in the irons, Captain Cook has John Velazquez taking the call, Manny Franco is named on Mika and Brotha Keny will have Javier Castellano in the irons.
Return to the January 20 issue of Wire to Wire
