Globetrotting Toast of New York completed the final leg of his journey from England Jan. 20 and settled in at Gulfstream Park, where he will compete Jan. 27 in the $16 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1).
The 7-year-old son of Thewayyouare was flown from England to Miami, Fla. Jan. 18 and spent the required 48 hours in quarantine. Once he was released from a USDA facility at Miami International Airport, he was loaded on a van for the 20-mile ride to the track. He walked off the van at 5:32 p.m. and began his stay in the isolation barn at the track by rolling around in the shavings in his stall.
Jimmy McCarthy, an assistant to trainer Jamie Osborne and Toast of New York's exercise rider, accompanied the runner on the trip from England. McCarthy said the journey from Osborne's barn went smoothly and that Toast of New York typically behaves well.
"He's pretty good, most of the time. He's pretty chilled out," McCarthy said. "He's a good traveler. He's a good tourist. He's done plenty of it. He's pretty good on the road.
The Pegasus will be the second start in a remarkable and improbable comeback by Toast of New York, who was runner-up by a nose to Bayern in the 2014 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), edging out eventual two-time Horse of the Year California Chrome by a neck for the place spot. Purchased by Al Shaqab Racing after that big performance at Santa Anita Park, he sustained a tendon injury while training for the 2015 Dubai World Cup and was retired.
Toast of New York stood at stud in Qatar in 2016, covering approximately 15 mares. When veterinarians discovered that the tendon injury had healed, Al Shaqab officials decided to see whether he could resume training and re-enter competition. He was sent back to England and put into an exercise program to improve his fitness. In March of 2017, he was sent back to Osborne, who handled the horse when he won the U.A.E. Derby Sponsored by The Saeed & Mohammed Al Naboodah (G2) and finished second in the Pacific Classic (G1) and the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1).
In his first race since retiring, he won a race at Lingfield in England Dec. 6. Plans were then made for competing in the second running of the Pegasus World Cup.
"He's been very good. He took the run pretty well," McCarthy said. "All his works since have been good. He's been doing all the things that he used to do. Where that puts him, we'll find out. We're very happy with him."
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