The first major of the majors for 2026 has been won, and its Skippylongstocking who is a ‘Win-You’re-In’ for the Breeders’ Cup Classic having won the Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park.
“Everything went to plan” said ‘home-town’ jockey Tyler Gaffalione who was racing off the pace down the backstretch, before moving through the field and hitting the lead at the sixteenth pole.
In being very much the race outsider, Skippylongstocking defeated stable-mate and last year’s Pegasus World Cup winner White Abarrio by 1¾ lengths in 1:48.49s for the 1 1/8 mile event.
“It just means everything,” said an elated owner Daniel Alonso, “He’s an amazing horse. This has been an amazing ride for all of us. He’s taken us to some of the best races in the world.”
And with the Breeders’ Cup World Championships to be run at Keeneland on 30-31 October, it was trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. who stated ‘a trip to the Dubai World Cup could be in play.’
Now the winner of 13 races and $5.4m in stakes, Skippylongstocking was a $37,000 2021 Ocala Breeders 2YO buy, having been a $15,000 2020 Keeneland September Yearling graduate.
A 7yo bay horse, he was bred in Kentucky by Brushy Hill out of the War Chant mare Twinkling.
And this being the 10th edition of the $2.9m Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes, it’s Gulfstream Park who offer 10 facts about the Pegasus World Cup and its remarkable competitors –
1. – The Pegasus World Cup derives its name from an iconic 110-foot-tall Pegasus and Dragon statue that towers over Gulfstream Park, a captivating landmark in Florida.
2. – From 1959 to 2016, the race was run as the Donn Handicap Grade 1 with legends like Forego, Cigar, and Skip Away among its roster of storied runners.
3. – The rebranding of the race as the Pegasus in 2017, won by 2016 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Arrogate, made an immediate statement with a then-record $12 million purse.
4. – The 1 1/8-mile dirt track record at Gulfstream was set when Arrogate dazzled in the 2017 edition, stopping the clock in 1:46.83 – a mark that still stands today.
5. – Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. holds the record for most Pegasus wins on White Abarrio in 2025, Life Is Good in 2022, and Mucho Gusto in 2020, with no other jockey having won multiple editions.
6. – The trainer with the most Pegasus wins is Hall of Famer Bob Baffert with National Treasure in 2024, Mucho Gusto in 2020 and Arrogate in 2017, and the Donn Handicap in 2001 with Captain Steve.
7. – No horse has won the Pegasus more than once, reinforcing the event’s competitive balance and wide-open nature. Cigar, 1995–96, and Pistol And Roses, 1993–94, own back-to-back Donn’s.
8. – The Pegasus stands as Florida’s richest and most prestigious Thoroughbred race, anchoring Gulfstream Park’s winter racing season and drawing international attention each January.
9. – Six of nine Pegasus winners have also enjoyed success at the World Championships with Arrogate, Gun Runner, Knicks Go and White Abarrio in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic and Life Is Good and City of Light in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile.
10. – Pegasus World Cup Day has evolved into a highly engaging, entertainment-driven experience combining sports, wagering, lifestyle, music, fashion all with the vibrance of South Florida.
