{"id":4809,"date":"2007-09-24T01:19:27","date_gmt":"2007-09-24T01:19:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blacktypebugler.com\/?p=4809"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","slug":"oldbtb_4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/?p=4809","title":{"rendered":"World Cup Spotlight: Even Creatures of Mythological Proportions Have Dreams"},"content":{"rendered":"

Even Creatures of Mythological Proportions Have Dreams:<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/U><\/P>

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The Blood, Sweat, and Tears of a True Champion <\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

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The World Cup Week Spotlight Article <\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

By; D.Sparrow<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Ermington Pegasus is a name synonymous with victory, power, beauty, precision, and deadly force. He is one of the most respected and feared equines \u201calive\u201d in the Sim today. His earnings are nearing ten million dollars in just twenty two starts and has won half of those, twelve in all. He has hit the board in every finish, with the exception of two, and usually wins a safe distance ahead of the rest of the field. His dominance is overpowering and his presence can not be ignored. He \u00a0<\/SPAN>was the power house favorite for the North American Team in the World Cup Classic in Kentucky. Yesterday he raced for his country, his continent, and for a goal he was finally in reach of. <\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Secret Pegasus was bred in Kentucky by Fusaichi Pegasus and a lesser know Secretariat x Seattle Slew brood mare. She foaled four offspring from 2004 to 2007 and of those only one ever became worthy of the pedigree she passed on. This little bay colt would carve himself a path his sibling could not even comprehend and one that some of the best horses under a jockey could not follow. <\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

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Ermington was born and bred in the sweet bluegrass of Kentucky<\/st1:State>, USA<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>. He is the son of impressive stallion Mesa Sky and tiny bay Secret Pegasus. His training began in the summer of 2005 and on the 18th<\/SUP> of October he stormed out of the gate for the first time and, for the first time, won. So impressed was owner-trainer, Pigeon, that it was decided to up the stakes and see how talented this little colt was. Ermington romped across the wire at the Alydar Bacon Special Stakes<\/I> with a two length lead and one month later he eased into a third win by two lengths in the Grade II Rumson Stakes<\/I>. Ermington indeed had the wings of Pegasus and he proved it after a two month new year break. His first race as a three year old resulted in an astonishing win in the prestigious George Woolfe Stakes<\/I>. A massive charge launched him from dead last to ahead by a neck in four furlongs. He had a hiccup a month later in the Florida Derby<\/I> with a fifth, but refused to leave until he got his win. Four weeks later he pulverized field in the North Florida Stakes<\/I> to win by near four lengths. <\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

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Despite his impressive achievements so yearly in his life, Ermington Pegasus\u2019 day-of-days was just around the corner. The little three-year-old was selected to run in the 2006 Bluegrass Derby and would put up a show to rival his great win in the George Woolfe<\/I>. Out of the gate he piddled in 13th<\/SUP> and then took flight on the outside. He battled with the monstrous Virtuoso down to the wire, but Virtuoso beat him there. Virtuoso, along with his Derby win, would lose miserably in the Middle Jewel<\/I>, but win The New Yorker<\/I> to claim two jewels in the 2006 Triple Jewel Challenge. Ermington placed in that same Middle Jewel and hiccupped again in the GII Flat Land Derby<\/I> that August. The Derby<\/st1:City> loss and the disappointing sixth place finish in the Flat<\/st1:PlaceName> Land<\/st1:PlaceType><\/st1:place> crushed the Pigeon Stables, but all champions bleed. It was time to pick up the pieces and prepare for war because one of the Sim\u2019s richest and most competitive races put out a call for the best of the best. Ermington Pegasus was going to answer that call. <\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

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With a $5,000,000 purse, the 2006 Breeder\u2019s Bowl<\/I> was lined with the greatest three year-olds and up, but that didn\u2019t stop the Pegasus from taking flight. Out of the gate he thundered and everyone who laid witness to the George Woolfe Stakes<\/I> and Bluegrass Derby<\/I> were slapped with a serious douse of d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu. He bore down on the field from the sixth spot off the rail and lurched from 11th<\/SUP> place to 2nd<\/SUP>, but like the Derby, it just was not enough. The equally talented Solar Song managed to cross the wire a little more than two lengths ahead. At this point it was not sure if Ermington would ever achieve the one massive win he was so deserving of. He had many great wins, but not that one special win that would out shine the rest. With the holiday season in full swing he racked up another win at the KyHorseman Derby<\/I> and Pigeon hoped that this next year, some resolutions would actually come true. <\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>In the crisp, mid-afternoon Michigan air thousands screamed and hollered as the Pegasus out matched another field by two and a half lengths in the Toilet Scrubbers Anonymous Handicap<\/I>. A Little over a month later he traveled to California to win the California Handicap<\/I> in nearly the same manner. Twenty one days later Pigeon entered him in the Sand Castle Classic<\/I>. Though not as prestigious as the Breeder\u2019s Bowl<\/I>, the Sand Castle\u2019s<\/I> purse was enormous, $6 million to be precise. Fan wondered if their hero could handle such a race on only two weeks of rest. Normally if was given close to, or over, a month to rest and train. It would be a true rest of his character, talent, endurance, shear will to win. <\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

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Ermington Pegasus came out of the gate clean, with little veering of the field. He maintained a steady pace in the very pack of the pack then slowly started to build up speed. Stride for stride it was like the George Woolfe<\/I> all over again, but seemed to be in slow motion. He passed the entire field, including rivals Virtuoso and Solar song, on the far outside. The masses either screamed until hoarse or stood silent in utter shock and awe. Pegasus massacred his rivals by five lengths yet exerted himself no more than any other race he\u2019d ever been in. It seemed to make up for all the hardships the Pigeon stables endured the last year and it was like a walk in the park for Pegasus. The following months provided another two wins in the Maryland Special Handicap<\/I> and the Michael-Strike Stakes<\/I>, along with a place and a show in the Movieland Shiny Cup<\/I> and the CA Classic<\/I> respectively. <\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

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September welcomed the World Cup Competition<\/I> and a chance for horses and owners to represent their countries and continents. For the World Cup Classic<\/I>, to be hosted in Kentucky, Ermington was selected to one of the four horses to represent the North and South American team. The purse was not great by any means, but the trophy and bragging rights out weighed it. It was after all, a World Cup<\/I> race. <\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

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Up against the world\u2019s best, including the remarkable Passing Stone and the impressive Ataun, Ermington showed no fear and no hesitation. The start was flawless and the pace was furious from the gate. Ermington held in the middle then started his slow, but devastating crawl to the front of the pack. No one could stop him or catch him. As the pace setting Endurance Key faded to be over taken by Passing Stone, Ermington screamed passed the field in the final furlongs and pulled away. Passing Stone was his only threat and seemed to match him for a moment, but was overcome and forced to relinquish the lead. Months before Ermington Pegasus won the richest race of his career and now he had a trophy worthy of an entire continent. The Pigeon stables, like all of us, always dreamed for a champion and standing in that World Cup winner\u2019s circle, they could not be more proud of him. The World Cup Classic<\/I> brought out the best in Ermington, tactical precision, power, and speed. He performed a personal best finish time for 10f at 1:59 3\/5 and showed more heart and drive than he ever had in the past.<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>There is no telling where Ermington Pegasus will go from here or what he is truly capable of, but no matter what happened in the future, he will always be remembered has a champion and one of the greatest. <\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

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The Blood, Sweat, and Tears of a True Champion: The Life of Ermington Pegasus… Thus Far <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":152,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-horses"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/152"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4809"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4809\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}