Trainer Jamie Osborne has been banging the drum for his horse Toast of New York prior to the Pegasus World Cup on Saturday night, billed as “the richest race in the world”.
With $16 million of prize money on offer, the winner will receive an enticing $7 million (£4.9 million).
Despite not being favourite, Osborne has said:
If you look at the facts, anyone is unlikely to take him seriously but what we have seen in his work, not so much pre-Lingfield but post-Lingfield, he needs to be in this field
Whether his best is good enough to beat Gun Runner we will find out but I am pretty sure he has not deteriorated for the three years off
Gun Runner is fancied by the bookies, and as of time of writing is set to go off at evens, or around evens. Other horses preferred to Toast of new York include Collected, West Coast, Sharp Azteca, and Forever Unbridled.
Despite this, Osborne seems convinced his horse belongs in this race. Toast of New York has spent the majority of the last three years recovering from ligament damage, sustained in a race in Doha.
It looked like it was going to be a great journey and suddenly it was over. We thought he had gone forever but now we are reliving the dream
This horse has been a big part of the last few years in our lives. I rarely get attached to horses but I am quite attached to him
The Pegasus is scheduled to go off at 10:40pm on Saturday evening.
