Fox Hill Farms Inc.'s Omaha Beach (War Front) breezed five furlongs in 1:00.42 (XBTV video) at Gulfstream Park Sunday in advance of the Jan. 25 GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational. Jockey Julien Leparoux was aboard for the work, however, Mike Smith is expected to be up for the $3-million race.
Facing a strong headwind in Sunday's move, Omaha Beach cut out internal fractions of :23.92 and :35.77, galloping out six furlongs in 1:14.35.
“Everything was good,” Leparoux said. “To me, it looked very nice, very smooth. He was happy doing it. It felt good. It was a good breeze, I thought.”
“It was real nice,” said Richard Mandella. “We weren't looking to ring any bells. Just wanted a nice steady work today because we missed a little bit of time. We will come back with another workout next weekend.”
Last week, the colt's training was briefly interrupted after sustaining some mild foot bruising. According to Mandella, Omaha Beach's shoe was removed and the affected foot was treated, and the bay was back on the track for a routine gallop Friday morning. Mandella indicated that the colt's foot has responded well to treatment.
“As you can see it's working pretty good,” he said. “We've got a lot of time to the race, so I think we're in good shape.”
The winner of five of seven starts last season, including three at the Grade I level, Omaha Beach concluded 2019 with an impressive victory in the GI Malibu Dec. 28 at Santa Anita Park. The Pegasus is expected to be his final start before he heads off to stud at Spendthrift Farm.
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