There shall be loads of music at Gulfstream Park Jan. 24 on a usually festive Pegasus World Cup day.
The DJs within the hospitality areas in all probability shall be enjoying numerous pop and hip-hop.
However on the racetrack, it might be Disco Time.
No, KCÂ and the Sunshine Band won’t be showing.
As an alternative, within the featured $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1), the favourite is an undefeated 4-year-old with a 5-for-5 document who shall be showing in a grade 1 for the primary time.Join BloodHorse Each day
Meet Disco Time .
In a profession that noticed him miss each the Triple Crown and Breeders’ Cup, Juddmonte’s homebred son of Not This Time  will attempt to make up for misplaced time because the 8-5 favourite over 11 rivals within the 1 1/8-mile Pegasus.
“We’re hoping for an excellent journey and excited concerning the alternative with him,” mentioned coach Brad Cox, whose horse will break from publish 1 with Eclipse Award-winning jockey Flavien Prat. “His races have given us lots of cause to be excited and it is given us the arrogance to do that race.”
Photograph: Hodges Pictures / Lou Hodges Jr.​Disco Time rallies to publish a neck victory within the 2025 Lecomte Stakes at Truthful Grounds Race Course
Attempting to recollect Disco Time’s lone look in a graded stakes might tax the reminiscence banks. It was again on Jan. 18, 2025, when the speedy son of the Leap Begin mare Disco Chick acquired off to an uncharacteristic sluggish begin within the Lecomte Stakes (G3) and rallied from tenth to win the Kentucky Derby (G1) prep by a neck in his third profession begin and change into a high Triple Crown contender.
However after that, issues went improper.
“A yr in the past, we had been hoping we’d begin properly on the Kentucky Derby path. However he got here out of the Lecomte with some points that we thought had been minor however after giving him a brief time period off, he simply wasn’t proper so we knew he’d be off the Triple Crown path,” mentioned Garrett O’Rourke, supervisor of Juddmonte Farm USA.
The main focus then turned to the Breeders’ Cup, however …Â
“When Derby desires are gone you begin interested by the Breeders’ Cup. However after we introduced him again, he took some time to get again in full rhythm. Once more nothing main, however it ended Breeders’ Cup ideas,” O’Rourke mentioned.
Disco Time returned with a 5 1/2-length rating within the St. Louis Derby Sept. 19 adopted by a 9 3/4-length romp within the Dwyer Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack, each of which registered spectacular velocity figures.
That turned the eye to the Saudi Cup (G1), however (there’s that phrase once more) his worldwide score was not excessive sufficient to advantage an invitation to the $20 million race in February.
“In order that’s the place we are actually,” O’Rourke mentioned. “Possibly typically issues occur for a cause.”
The Pegasus is a fairly profitable Plan B and it ought to reply some pertinent questions on whether or not Disco Time can prolong his successful streak whereas assembly grade 1 firm for the primary time and touring so long as 1 1/8 miles for preliminary time in his profession.
“We’ll discover out if he is the horse we predict he’s,” O’Rourke mentioned.
Because the starting of his profession and all through the stops and begins, his connections have by no means misplaced religion in Disco Time.
“There’s lots of expertise there. He trains the half,” Cox mentioned. “He is like lots of the great ones. He offers you that good work you search for every week. The great ones are those which might be constant within the morning and afternoon. Since he is come again, he is matured like he was meant to.”
What occurs within the Pegasus figures to go a great distance towards deciding whether or not the connections exit Gulfstream Park with a big-time case of Saturday Night time Fever about main grade 1 stakes for the undefeated colt. A win might put the Dubai World Cup (G1) or Metropolitan Handicap (G1) in play. Or, if he struggles, lower-hanging fruit shall be on the menu.
Both method, it is lastly time for the darkish bay or brown colt to take the dance ground on one of many sport’s greatest phases.
“He is an excellent coaching horse within the morning. He is an trustworthy horse who offers you his all. I feel he’ll be prepared for the race,” O’Rourke mentioned. “He is nonetheless unbeaten and hopefully he can get in a pleasant rhythm, and we’ll discover out if he is able to producing what he has been teasing us with.”
Madaket Highway out of Pegasus, Lightning Tones in
The Bob Baffert-trained Madaket Highway has been scratched from the Pegasus after drawing publish 6, transferring horses who drew outdoors of him one publish nearer to the rail.
The defection will enable Lightning Tones to run and break from publish 12.
A son of Tonalist  owned by JC Racing Steady and educated by Jose Castro, the 6-year-old gelding exits a Jan. 10 second-straight win at Gulfstream Park within the Sunshine Basic Stakes for Florida-breds.
Photograph: Coglianese Images/Electra BooneLightning Tones wins the Sunshine Basic Stakes at Gulfstream Park
The grade 2-placed veteran campaigner, who was on the also-eligible checklist, has raced over Gulfstream’s foremost observe 30 instances with seven wins, seven seconds, and 6 thirds.
Entries: Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. (G1)Gulfstream Park, Saturday, January 24, 2026, Race 13Grade I1 1/8mDirt $3,000,0004 yo’s & up5:39 PM (native)
