Tuscan Sky sprouts wings in the Pegasus Saturday at Monmouth Park (Ryan Denver/EQUI-PHOTO)
By Laura Pugh
Earlier this Spring, the Todd Pletcher-trained Tuscan Sky was looking to make some waves on the Kentucky Derby trail. The son of Vino Rosso won his first two career starts impressively before finishing a dull 7th place in the Wood Memorial Stakes. The effort was a head scratcher, and other than a rough trip, no other excuse has been given for the poor performance.
However, this past weekend, Tuscan Sky came roaring back in impressive fashion. In his first performance since his defeat in the Wood Memorial, he steamrolled his rivals in Monmouth Park’s Pegasus Stakes by over six lengths.
In the beginning, Tuscan Sky was content to let four others vie for the lead. That tactic didn’t last long, and before the first quarter mile was posted, Tuscan Sky went from a couple lengths behind in fifth, to second place only a head from the lead at the quarter call.
Inside of four other horses, Tuscan Sky sat chilly on the rail through a quarter in 23.35 and a half mile in 46.94 seconds. With three furlongs left to go, Tuscan Sky had the lead by half a length, an advantage that quickly began to multiply as the rest of his foes began to get leg-weary. In the end, Tuscan Sky was much the best, hitting the wire in a snappy 1:43.31.
This was the performance we were all looking to see in the Wood Memorial, back in April. Pressured with four foes to his inside, through splits that were quite a bit quicker than most other races at a similar distance, and none of it mattered. His rider, Javier Castellano, attributed the performance to the ground saving trip, which while that likely helped, you’d think there was something else behind it considering the 6 ¾ length winning margin.
This was the first start that Tuscan Sky sported blinkers, which Castellano said helped in keeping him “forward”. In the Wood, Tuscan broke sluggish, similar to the Pegasus Stakes, However, that day there were 12 other horses instead of 5. The larger field out mostly out ran Tuscan Sky, who was much farther back than he was in his first two starts, and never really seemed comfortable. He did make a mild rally, which was hindered with a sharp bump at the top of the stretch and a check to avoid a spill, but he never at any point looked like a winner.
In the Pegasus Stakes, Tuscan Sky was able to get in gear quicker, despite being outbroken and outrun the first furlong or so. I liked that he was able to take so much pressure and continue running, but I don’t know how much we can trust him moving forward. The race came back with solid speed figures, indicating a strong effort, but his issues at the start are definitely enough to cause some hesitation.
This year’s 3-year-old crop is chalked full of horses that want to be on the lead or pressing it. Fierceness, Dornoch, Seize the Grey, and Mindframe all share Tuscan Sky’s style, and all of them don’t have issues engaging early if they don’t get the front. Tuscan Sky, on the other hand, even with blinkers, still drops out of the fray before finding the right gear. In a larger field, it’s very easy to imagine him getting shuffled back again. If that happens, will he be able to overcome it, or will we see a Wood Memorial repeat?
No plans have been given for the Pegasus Stakes winner, however, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him return in the Haskell, which will give him the chance to give a repeat performance.
I liked him before the Wood and thought running him there was an odd choice. Maybe he didn’t take to the track, maybe the effort really was due to being taken out of his normal tactics, and the blinkers will help. I am not typically one to give second chances, but being by Vino Rosso, it’s not surprising that he’s still a bit immature, so with that in mind, I’m leaning towards drawing a line through the Wood Memorial.
I believe that the Tuscan Sky that we saw this past Saturday is the one that will continue to show up, and that with more experience, the colt will continue to improve. Look for him to make some noise the rest of 2024.
