Can The Louisiana-Bred Sensation Touchuponastar Topple The Big Boys In The Pegasus?

[Wandering Eyes]

You probably won't find the name Touchuponastar (Star Guitar) on anyone's 2025 Eclipse Award ballot. Fanfare just doesn't come easily for a Louisiana-bred who has spent most of his career competing against fellow state breds. But the 7-year-old gelding is unquestionably one of the fastest horses in the sport. Is he fast enough to win the Jan. 24 GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes at Gulfstream Park? It appears he may just be given that chance.

When the names of horses invited to the $3 million race were released, Touchuponastar was included on the list. According to the horse's owner, the former NFL quarterback Jake Delhomme, who starred with the Carolina Panthers, it was Gulfstream Vice President of Racing Operations Mike Lakow who reached out to the connections and told them the track would be thrilled to have Touchuponastar compete in one of Gulfstream's signature races.

“Mike Lakow reached out to us, probably over two months ago,” Delhomme said. “He said that he wanted to throw out the idea of our running there.”

Touchuponastar is trained by Delhomme's brother, Jeff. The team has yet to decide whether or not it will point for the Pegasus, but Jake Delhomme said the race is definitely under consideration.

“There's a chance that we will run,” Delhomme said. “We told [Lakow] we would consider it. There's no definitive answer yet. We'll see.”

Some skeptics might conclude that Touchuponastar would be outclassed in the Pegasus. But adherents of the Beyer speed figures are likely to look at it differently. Touchuponastar has run Beyer figures of 101, 108 and 104 in his last three starts. His best figure of the year came when he turned in a 109 after winning the GII New Orleans Classic. Only six horses posted faster numbers in 2025.

By way of comparison, White Abarrio (Race Day), the winner of the 2025 Pegasus, who will likely be among the favorites in this year's race, has run numbers of 97, 103 and 97 in his last three starts. One of the other big names being pointed for the race, Tappan Street, (Into Mischief), recorded a 90 Beyer in a Dec. 19 allowance that served as a prep for the Pegasus.

Disco Time | Joe Labozzetta

“I think he would be very competitive with those horses,” Delhomme said. “I follow this sport religiously. It's not something I just do on the side. I feel very confident in saying that I stay abreast of what's going on. Tappan Street is an unbelievably talented horse and I loved what he did last year. Disco Time (Not This Time) is training lights out for Brad [Cox]. You have Skippylongstocking (Exaggerator), White Abarrio… there are so many good horses pointing for this race. It's an honor to have been invited.”

Should he go in the Pegasus, it will not be the first time that the Delhommes have gone outside their comfort zone, which has been races for Louisiana-breds. Eighteen of his 26 starts have come against horses also born in the Bayou State, and his record in those races is 16-for-18. But he proved his bona fides in last year's New Orleans Classic, defeating, among others, Sierra Leone (Gun Runner). Delhomme said that race is also a possible target for this year.

“I'll be very honest and won't give you any fluff,” Delhomme said. “Our horse can compete at many levels and he's doing extremely well and is very, very sound. That was proven last year against Sierra Leone and Hall of Fame when he ran against those two. To run in the Pegasus would be something very different for us. I played football for 15 years and I learned then that you have to take things one week at a time. We'll keep this under consideration.”

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