The Haiku Handicapper: 2018 Pegasus World Cup Invitational

Joe Nevills, sales editor for the Daily Racing Form and columnist for Arabian Finish Line, analyzes the 2018 Pegasus World Cup Invitational in the form of Haiku; a Japanese poem of 17 syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five.

#1 - Singing Bullet
Stronach Group's house horse
Hurtles into the deep end
The rail's nice, at least

#2 - West Coast
The 3-year-old champ
Stood with the best in this field
Win threat with clean start

#3 - Stellar Wind
Recent sale-topper
Lacks a flair for the big stage
Winless at distance

#4 - Sharp Azteca
A big-time miler
Will have to fight for the pace
At a new distance

#5 - Collected
Best from the west coast
Used his mulligan in a
Lackluster last out

#6 - Gunnevera
Honest, loves the track
Bound to sneak up for a piece
If the pace sets up

#7 - Fear the Cowboy
Local prep winner
Lost a listed stakes at Penn
Before that effort

#8 - War Story
If you don't succeed
Try, try again and again
He's inching closer

#9 - Toast of New York
The comeback story
Has a huge upside on dirt
If he's fresh, not stale

#10 - Gun Runner
New Horse of the Year
Stares down a tricky swan song
The long way around

#11 - Seeking the Soul
Hot at the right time
But he'll need another gear
To hang in this bunch

#12 - Giant Expectations
Topped the San Antone
With Collected tuning up
Low expectations

#13AE - Giuseppe the Great
Gained a ton of buzz
For his Jim Dandy second
Five races ago

#14AE - Game Over
The other Loooch horse
Can't get it done in Grade 3s
Wouldn't split the field

Prediction
Another torch-pass
West Coast usurps Gun Runner
Six, eight fill super