Vino Rosso’s Tuscan Sky shines bright in Monmouth’s Pegasus S.

Tuscan Sky, the promising colt from the first crop of Vino Rosso, signaled that he could be a force in the second half of the 3-year-old season, as the gray colt – freshly equipped with blinkers – romped to victory by 6 3/4 lengths in the $150,000 Pegasus S. on June 15th at Monmouth Park.

The Pegasus serves annually as the local prep for the $1,000,000 Haskell Invitational (G1), Monmouth’s premier race that will take place Saturday, July 20th.

With the aforementioned addition of blinkers for the first time, Tuscan Sky was much more forwardly placed early on, breaking and assuming an inside position just off the pacesetter as the field made the first turn in the 1 1/16-mile race. Under jockey Javier Castellano, the colt took command down the backstretch and powerfully hugged the rail into the far turn and stretch. Displaying the same strong finish as shown in his previous two wins, Tuscan Sky swapped to his right lead and powered away from his competition in impressive fashion, increasing his advantage with every stride to finish all alone at the wire. He stopped the clock in 1:43.31.

“I think this horse deserves a shot in the Haskell the way he won this race,” said Castellano.

The performance earned Tuscan Sky a 99 Beyer Speed Figure, putting him on par with most of the top 3-year-olds around two turns on dirt in 2024. The victory was also validated by the distant runner-up, Tampa Bay Derby (G3) winner Domestic Product, and third-placed finisher Hades, winner of this year’s Holy Bull S. (G3) at Gulfstream. Both colts either ran in or would have qualified for this year’s Kentucky Derby.

Trained by Todd Pletcher, Tuscan Sky ran his young record to 3 wins from 4 starts and earnings of $190,500 for Spendthrift Farm. He becomes the newest black type winner from the first crop of champion Vino Rosso.