'Giant' Fires Bullet Ahead of Pegasus

GII San Antonio S. upsetter Giant Expectations (Frost Giant) breezed a best-of-64 five furlongs in :58.80 Friday morning at Santa Anita in preparation for the $16 million GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. at Gulfstream Jan. 27.

“We were pretty pleased with it. We're happy with his energy. All systems go so far,” trainer Peter Eurton said. “He worked by himself. There were some horses working in front of him that he ended up catching up with.”

Victor of the GII Pat O' Brien S. going seven furlongs at Del Mar in August, Giant Expectations was the longest shot on the board in the five-horse renewal of the 1 1/16-mile San Antonio at 13-1. He went from gate-to-wire to register a 3 1/4-length victory over a field that included MGISW Hoppertunity (Any Given Saturday) and GISW and Pegasus contender Collected (City Zip).

Giant Expectation will have his final work prior to the Pegasus Friday and will ship to Florida Jan. 24. Hall of Fame pilot Gary Stevens, who was aboard for the San Antonio, will retain the mount for the Pegasus.

“I just don't want to go there and gallop a few days and breeze him over the track. If I don't like the way he works over the track when he breezes, I'd feel terrible,” Eurton said. “This way if he doesn't run good, I'll feel terrible that day, but I won't feel terrible the whole week.”