Wolfie’s Dynaghost tipped as top choice heading into $1M Pegasus Turf (G1) prep

Gulfstream Press

Leading a deep cast of ten seasoned runners, last year’s titleholder Major Dude joins fellow millionaires Wolfie’s Dynaghost and Chasing the Crown alongside graded performers Cugino and Steal Sunshine for the Fort Lauderdale (G3) worth two hundred thousand dollars at Gulfstream Park; for example, several in here already boast seven-figure accounts and multiple black-type results, a common sight in this local trial in Hallandale Beach, FL.

Set for nine furlongs on turf, the sixty-ninth edition for ages three and older will be the finale among five stakes (two of them graded) on an eleven-race Pegasus Preview Day slate, with the first post at 12:20 in the afternoon; as a quick illustration, fans mapping out a racecard schedule often plan lunch around that opening bell.

Titled after the coastal city roughly fourteen miles north of the track, Fort Lauderdale functions as the home prep for the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) on January 24; also featured Saturday are the $150,000 Harlan’s Holiday (G3), a springboard toward the $3 million Pegasus World Cup (G1), plus the $150,000 Suwannee River that sharpens contenders for the $500,000 Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf (G2), much like a tune-up workout before a marquee dance.

Spendthrift Farm’s Major Dude aims to become the race’s first back‑to‑back winner after edging millionaire Fort Washington by a neck last year, which gave him his fifth stakes success and most recent graded tally; at Gulfstream he owns two victories and two runner-up finishes from six attempts, including the 2023 Kitten’s Joy (G3), a pattern—tight photos and narrow margins—for example, that often signals a horse thriving over a specific surface.

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher indicated they will try to defend the crown, noting that the horse’s reliability and effort level make him a favorite in the barn, and he referenced a sharp Saturday drill as a positive sign; for instance, a crisp move can hint at readiness even if the stopwatch isn’t flashy.

Most recently, Major Dude captured the Artie Schiller at one mile on the Aqueduct lawn on October 11, pushing earnings beyond one million four hundred thousand dollars; he has won two of three at nine furlongs and, with another victory, would hand Pletcher a fifth Fort Lauderdale after earlier scores with Silver Medallion (2012), Mshawish (2015) and Largent (2020) prior to last season, a résumé that underscores stable consistency at this venue.

Pletcher added that despite the Aqueduct win, the course there didn’t seem ideal for him, so the team spaced races to point specifically for this event, recognizing he fires fresh and excelled in this spot last year; small adjustments—such as timing gaps or gallop days—can, for example, steady a form cycle.

Approaching six years old, the plan is to run here, assess the effort, and potentially earn a place in the Pegasus Turf; longer-range choices remain open, he said, because the horse feels like part of the family, which, for instance, can influence whether a campaign leans ambitious or conservative.

John Velazquez, a Hall of Fame rider who has partnered him in his last three starts, gets the call from Post 8, and the pair sit at five‑to‑one on the early line; that kind of quote can shift a tick or two if scratches or pace projections change late.

Woodslane Farm’s homebred gelding Wolfie’s Dynaghost, now seven, seeks a fourteenth career victory—and a third straight—while making his second start for trainer Brian Lynch after dictating terms to win the River City (G3) at Churchill Downs on November 8 by two and three‑quarter lengths over nine furlongs; a forward style can, for example, simplify the pace scenario when the fractions suit.

Lynch said the horse arrived in excellent condition and kept marching from where he’d been with Jonathan Thomas, pointing out that Wolfie’s Dynaghost hinted at readiness before the River City and delivered as hoped; he praised the veteran’s class and suggested the streak shows he could be an ideal older turf handicap type, the kind that anchors a stable through a season.

Success at Gulfstream is nothing new for Wolfie’s Dynaghost, who took the Carousel Club overnight event on the all‑weather Tapeta in both 2022 and 2023 on the Pegasus World Cup undercard; he also missed by only a half‑length in the 2022 Appleton (G3) at a mile on the Gulfstream grass for original trainer Tom Albertrani, which illustrates how track conditions and configuration can suit a particular runner.

Lynch previously lifted the Fort Lauderdale in 2016 with Heart to Heart at age five, and two seasons later that runner rattled off consecutive Grade 1 tallies beginning with the Gulfstream Park Turf—later rebranded the Pegasus Turf in 2019—demonstrating how a winter score can springboard to elite company.

The trainer added that Heart to Heart grabbed Grade 1 wins at seven, Grand Arch placed third in the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Mile at six, and that older campaigners can post peak seasons; he recalled John Henry earning Horse of the Year in 1984 at nine, hoping Wolfie’s Dynaghost has plenty more to give, a reminder that longevity often pays dividends.

Irad Ortiz Jr. takes the mount on Wolfie’s Dynaghost as the two‑to‑one program favorite from Post 2; the only jockey with six Championship Meet titles leads the nation with three hundred forty wins and a record thirty‑nine point six million dollars in purse money, metrics that handicapping players often weigh heavily.

Registered to Paradise Farms Corp., David Staudacher and Angelo Carlesimo, six‑year‑old Chasing the Crown (Post 3, eight‑to‑one) owns a millionaire résumé with three graded placings, including third to Spirit of St Louis and Integration in the 2025 Pegasus Turf while beaten one and one‑half lengths; trained by Mike Maker—who took the 2018 Fort Lauderdale with Shining Copper—he captured a five hundred thousand‑dollar handicap at Kentucky Downs before finishing seventh behind Wolfie’s Dynaghost in the River City, a form line that often proves instructive.

West Point Thoroughbreds and Jimmy Kahig’s four‑year‑old Cugino (Post 6, five‑to‑two) annexed last year’s Tropical Park Derby at Gulfstream and has a pair of seconds over this turf, including the 2024 Colonel Liam when he lost by a neck; his Hall of Fame conditioner Shug McGaughey has yet to win the Fort Lauderdale, a gap that can motivate team tactics.

West Point executive vice president Tom Bellhouse said the horse could not be doing better, with a glossy coat and everything needing to be just right to keep momentum toward the big dance in January; for example, connections often demand ideal gate draws or breezes when plotting a Grade 1 path.

A half‑brother to Grade 3 winner Battle of Normandy, Cugino enters on a two‑race tear: he rallied to take the Red Bank at a mile by a length on September 1 at Monmouth Park, then prevailed by a nose in the Red Smith (G2) at eleven furlongs on November 2 at Aqueduct; those contrasting setups—one sharper, one stamina‑leaning—can round out a profile.

Bellhouse added that they’ve always loved Cugino, though earlier he endured tough trips and inquiries even in wins, constantly catching traffic or rivals at the wrong time; he framed the horse as a classic Shug McGaughey project who blossoms at four and five while staying in the program, hoping the ceiling remains ahead.

Flavien Prat, aboard for the Red Smith, ships in to ride; he leads Ortiz Jr. this year in stakes victories seventy‑one to sixty‑three and in graded wins forty‑five to thirty‑five nationwide, a leaderboard that can sway betting patterns late.

Owned by Michael Iavarone, Jules Iavarone et al, six‑year‑old Steal Sunshine (Post 1, twenty‑to‑one) seeks his first turf victory after a second from four prior attempts; an eight‑time winner and four‑time stakes scorer highlighted by the 2024 Gulfstream Park Mile (G2), he enters off a one and one‑half‑length success in the Finallymadeit overnight handicap at a mile and one‑sixteenth—eight and a half furlongs—with that recent score serving as a confidence builder.

Completing the lineup are three‑time Grade 3‑placed Siege of Boston (Post 4, twenty‑to‑one), who was fifth by one and one‑half lengths here last year; stakes winner Beach Gold (Post 5, eight‑to‑one); Naptown (Post 7, thirty‑to‑one); Quatrocento (Post 9, twenty‑to‑one); and Grade 3‑placed Divin Propos (Post 10, eight‑to‑one), a mix that should ensure an honest tempo and tactical chess.