Forbidden Kingdom returns to capture Joe Hernandez Stakes

ARCADIA, Calif. – A multiple graded winner on dirt, Forbidden Kingdom entered the Grade 2 Joe Hernandez Stakes as the best horse in the field on Saturday at Santa Anita, but he faced many questions – seven-month layoff, switch to turf, and 11 top rivals.

Forbidden Kingdom ($10.60) answered every challenge in the 6 1/2-furlong stakes. The comeback 4-year-old set walking fractions under Flavien Prat to lead gate-to-wire and win his first graded stakes since the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes in March 2022.

The Hernandez, switched from the hillside course to the main turf oval, unfolded perfectly. Forbidden Kingdom set slow fractions (23.99 and 48.19) while pressed from the outside by Dancing Buck; that pair ran one-two all the way.

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Forbidden Kingdom won by a half-length over Dancing Buck; Turn On The Jets finished third. I’m a Gambler, surprisingly bet to 2.90-1 favoritism, finished fifth. The final time, over a course listed “good,” was 1:14.92.

Richard Mandella trains Forbidden Kingdom for My Racehorse and Spendthrift Farm, and the winner’s circle was jammed. My Racehorse racing manager Joe Moran estimated about 60 micro-share owners were in attendance; the colt has more than 200 owners.

“It’s a good win to wrap up the year,” Moran said. Referring to Forbidden Kingdom, he said “it was nice to have this horse [win], who was really our No. 1 stable member for some time.”

It was a long time between starts for the colt, sidelined since May and winless since 2022 while recovering from what Mandella referred to as an intestinal problem. “He seemed like he was as good as ever, but he wasn’t running as good as he can,” Mandella said. “He’s always been a top-class racehorse.”

Forbidden Kingdom, sired by American Pharoah, has now won 4 of 12 starts. His comeback was noteworthy by the way he did it. A borderline run-off, Forbidden Kingdom settled comfortably setting the slow pace.

“That’s why Flavien is one of the best, he got him to settle,” Moran said. “That’s been one of the hard parts, getting him to settle down the backstretch. That’s what he was able to accomplish.”

The comeback victory sets up Forbidden Kingdom for a big winter, likely sprints, and gives Mandella momentum into the weekend. His entrants Sunday include heavily favored Ruby Nell in the Lady of Shamrock Stakes and Llorona in an allowance sprint; and on Monday he starts highly regarded second-timer Alluring in a maiden race.

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