HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Only three horses have won a race going 1 1/8 miles over the main track from post position 11 in the 18 years since Gulfstream Park was reconfigured. One of those was the Todd Pletcher-trained Forte, who overcame a near-impossible trip from post 11 to run down ultimate Kentucky Derby winner Mage in the Grade 1 Florida Derby as a prohibitive 1-5 favorite in 2023. On Saturday, Pletcher will attempt to turn that rare feat once again with the 5-2 morning-line favorite Locked in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational. The Grade 1 Pegasus highlights an outstanding day of racing at Gulfstream that also features the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf, $500,000 Pegasus Filly and Mare Turf, and four other graded stakes. Post time for the 13-race program is 11 a.m Eastern. Pletcher is well aware of the challenge that awaits Locked but confident he has yet another horse talented enough to overcome the giant disadvantage of breaking from the outer posts with such a short run to the first turn in nine-furlong races here. “It’s not ideal, we all know the stats aren’t great, but it is what it is,” Pletcher said. “It’s definitely a difficult post, especially for horses that want to settle. Forte did it. And hopefully [Locked] will be able to get good position into the first turn and then go on from there.” :: Get Gulfstream Park Clocker Reports from Mike Welsch and the Clocker Team. Available every race day. Locked will not only have to overcome his post position, but will have to do so as far and away the least experienced member of the Pegasus field, having started just six times, four fewer than both Mystik Dan and Stronghold, who are next on that list. Locked, a son of Gun Runner, has certainly made the most of his limited opportunities, winning four times, including the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity at 2 and the Grade 2 Cigar Mile Handicap to cap off his brief but undefeated 3-year-old campaign. “We’ve always felt he was a top-class horse, one of the best of his generation, right from the outset. We knew that from the way he ran at 2 and the way he had trained so many times in company with Fierceness at 3,” Pletcher said. “Everything he’s done also indicated he wants to go a mile and one-eighth or farther. Unfortunately we never got a chance to stretch him out at 3. “He’s also been more tactical in his last few starts. He put himself in tracking position going seven furlongs and hopefully that’s what he’ll be able to do Saturday.” Pletcher will also send out Crupi, who finished a late-running third in this event a year ago. Crupi won just once in seven starts in 2024, capturing the Grade 2 Suburban going 1 1/4 miles at Saratoga in June. He comes into his 2025 debut off a fifth-place finish in the Grade 2 Clark at Churchill Downs. “He’s a pace-dependent, trip-dependent horse who put in some big efforts last year and if they go fast up front and he can work out a good trip, I think he can get a piece,” Pletcher said when assessing Crupi's chances in the Pegasus. Locked’s two primary rivals, White Abarrio and Saudi Crown, definitely fared much better at the post-position draw. White Abarrio has post 4. Saudi Crown will break farther inside from post 2. White Abarrio has already been to the top of the mountain, winning the Breeders’ Cup Classic for trainer Rick Dutrow in 2023. His current conditioner, Saffie Joseph Jr., is hopeful he can get him back to the summit again this year. White Abarrio rejoined Joseph’s barn following a disappointing effort in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap in June and has had two starts prepping for the Pegasus, both at seven furlongs, including a troubled second-place finish last month in the Grade 3 Mr. Prospector. :: Play Gulfstream Park with confidence! DRF Past Performances, Picks, and Clocker Reports available now. “I think White Abarrio is in a good place mentally right now, that’s the most important thing,” said Joseph. “He needs to break better. I think if he does and puts himself right in the race, he’s going to take a lot of beating.” Joseph is also expecting a big effort from Skippylongstocking, who finished fifth in the 2023 Pegasus and then was pulled up while suffering from heat issues after showing brief speed breaking from post 12 in this race a year ago. Skippylongstocking, who won three graded stakes in 2024 and has lifetime earnings of nearly $3.1 million, is not favorably drawn for his third go-round in the Pegasus. He will break just inside Locked in post 10. “We sent him from out there last year [post 12] and we realized that didn’t work. We’re not going to gamble and do that again this time,” said Joseph. “If he breaks and he can get over a little bit, that will be fine. If not, we’re going to tuck him in.” Saudi Crown projects as the pacesetter and is dangerous when loose on the lead as he was winning the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby at 3 and finishing third, beaten less than a length by Senor Buscador, last winter in the $20 million Saudi Cup. Both of those races, like the Pegasus, were also decided at nine furlongs. Saudi Crown comes into the race off a well-graded two-length victory in the Tenacious Stakes at the Fair Grounds, a nice rebound from the worst performance of his career seven weeks earlier in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. “It’s obviously a good draw for us, being inside with a horse that has speed, and the plan is to break running, although he did show the ability to sit off a horse last time,” said trainer Brad Cox. “I do think with his style of running, this is a racetrack he should like. That had a lot to do with making the final decision to run in this race as opposed to just waiting and training him up to the race in Saudi.” Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan is looking to bounce back from a couple of disappointing performances. He finished a distant eighth in the Belmont Stakes and sixth, while never a factor, when returning to action last month in the seven-furlong Malibu at Santa Anita. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. Mystik Dan has turned in a pair of bullet five-furlong works since shipping locally that has trainer Kenny McPeek confident his horse can return to his top form on Saturday. “Some horses go from being a good 3-year-old to a good older horse, and that’s a challenge,” McPeek said. “Will he transcend from a very good 3-year-old to a very good 4-year-old? The [Malibu] wasn’t ideal. But it’s a long year and we have several races to see where he fits. Hopefully, he comes back and proves himself as an older horse.” Power Squeeze won the prestigious Grade 1 Alabama last summer at Sararoga but is ambitiously placed against the boys. Like Locked, she will be compromised by the extreme outside post in the 12-horse lineup. Pacific Classic winner Mixto, Santa Anita Derby hero Stronghold, and Newgrange comprise the West Coast contingent, although Newgrange was transferred to trainer Jose D’Angelo’s barn at Palm Meadows to complete final preparations for his local debut. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.