Formidable Man picks up his third Grade 1 victory in Shoemaker Mile

ARCADIA, Calif. – In September 2023, Formidable Man won his debut in a maiden race at a mile on turf at Del Mar with Flavien Prat aboard.

Prat did not ride Formidable Man again until Monday’s Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita, guiding the now 5-year-old to an appealing win in his first start of the year.

Between those wins, Formidable Man was ridden by four other jockeys. Prat was involved in eight of those races, finishing in front of Formidable Man three times and behind him on five occasions.

The experience gave Prat vital information for the Shoemaker Mile. Benefiting from an ideal trip in the turf race, Formidable Man closed from fourth on the backstretch to win by 1 1/4 lengths at 3-5.

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“I rode so many times against him,” Prat said. “He’s a straightforward very good horse.”

Formidable Man won his seventh stakes, and third Grade 1, in the $301,500 Shoemaker Mile. He won the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby at Del Mar in November 2024 and the Grade 1 Frank Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita in March 2025. Prat was on horses that finished behind Formidable Man in those races.

The Shoemaker Mile was Formidable Man’s first start since a second-place finish behind Notable Speech, in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Del Mar last November.

Formidable Man paid $3.40. He was timed in 1:33.52.

Formidable Man raced on the rail for the first half of the race, stalking 5-1 Call Me Cory, who set a strong pace of 22.94 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 45.89 for a half-mile.

At the end of the backstretch, 22-1 Mi Hermano Ramon moved alongside Call Me Cory to take the lead. Prat saw Mi Hermano Ramon’s move and urged Formidable Man closer to the front.

“I was able to jump on his wheel,” Prat said of following Mi Hermano Ramon.

Mi Hermano Ramon took the lead in early stretch. Formidable Man gradually caught that rival and pulled clear in the final sixteenth to win by 1 1/4 lengths over 7-1 Almendares, who closed from last under jockey Antonio Fresu. Almendares won the Grade 3 American Stakes at a mile on turf from off the pace on April 18.

“The running style of my horse is he always drops out the back,” Fresu said. “He came running really well.”

Almendares was the fourth choice in the Shoemaker. Fresu noticed in the minutes before the race that Formidable Man appeared ready for a top effort despite the layoff.

“The winner is such a good horse,” Fresu said. “I looked at him in the post parade and he looked super fit.”

King of Gosford closed from seventh in the final furlong to finish third at 11-1, beaten 1 1/2 lengths. Almendares and King of Gosford are trained by Phil D’Amato.

Seal Team, who was third in the American, finished fourth, followed by Genius Jimmy, Mi Hermano Ramon, Twirling Point, and Call Me Cory.

There was little between the second through sixth-place finishers. Almendares finished 1 1/2 lengths in front of Mi Hermano Ramon.

Formidable Man, a 5-year-old horse by City of Light, has won 9 of 17 starts and earned $1,585,425 for owners William and Suzanne Warren and trainer Michael McCarthy. He rates as California’s leading contender for the BC Mile at Keeneland on Oct. 31.

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