• Next »

Twenty-seven races into his career and the fourth for his newest connections, Averill Racing's 7-year-old gelding Harrow will make his stakes debut against several accomplished turf marathoners in Saturday's $215,000 William L. McKnight (G3) presented by Visit Lauderdale at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The 58th running of the McKnight for 4-year-olds and up, scheduled for 1 1/2 miles on the grass, is the third of seven graded-stakes on a blockbuster 13-race Pegasus World Cup Day program that offers 10 stakes worth $5.625 million in purses. First race post time is 11 a.m. (EST)

By Lea, a graded-stakes winner on both dirt and turf including Gulfstream's 2014 Donn Handicap, precursor to the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1), Harrow has one previous win at the distance coming in his first start after being claimed for $16,000 last April at Tampa Bay Downs.

Harrow sprung an 8-1 upset of an optional claiming allowance Sept. 5 over the undulating course at Kentucky Downs, which Championship Meet leading trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said was actually a backup plan.

"Ironically, we raced at Kentucky Downs because his race at Saratoga rained off [the turf]. Going 1 1/2 miles, he really handled it well," Joseph said. "Rich Averill claimed him and he called me after he claimed him and said we're going to give him some time off and then we're going to have a nice starter horse. He picked a really good claim."

Harrow will have jockey Edgar Zayas up from Post 7 in an overflow field of 16 for his first race at Gulfstream. Following his win he came from well back to be third, beaten a length, in a 1 1/16-mile turf allowance Nov. 16 and, most recently, won a similar spot going the same distance Dec. 14 at Tampa Bay Downs.

"We ran him at Tampa last time as a stepping stone for this race," Joseph said, "He has to step up."

Photo Credit: Coady Photography