King of Gosford displayed a career-best performance to win Monday’s Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile on turf at Santa Anita. The effort has led trainer Phil D’Amato and the partnership that owns the 4-year-old colt to plan a limited campaign leading to an intended start in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Del Mar on Nov. 1. King of Gosford, who won the fifth stakes of his career with a thrilling rally in the $302,000 Shoemaker Mile, is likely to return in the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile, a $300,000 turf race on Aug. 30. D’Amato said King of Gosford is unlikely to start in the Grade 2 Eddie Read Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on turf at Del Mar on July 27. The stable has other runners selected for the $250,000 Read. “The Del Mar Mile would probably be the next logical step,” D’Amato said. “It seems like he runs really good races at that distance. I wouldn’t change it.” The Shoemaker Mile was King of Gosford’s second start of 2025, preceded by a game second as the 4-5 favorite in the Grade 3 American Stakes at a mile on turf at Santa Anita on April 20. :: Playing Santa Anita? Get the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances, Picks, and Clocker Reports available now. “We ran two races back-to-back races within [a little more than] a month,” D’Amato said. “I think maybe spacing his races out and waiting for the Del Mar Mile might be best for the horse.” The Grade 2 City of Hope Mile at Santa Anita on Sept. 27 is another long-term goal, a race with important implications. Not only is the City of Hope Mile the final major prep for California-based runners for the BC Mile, but the winner receives a fees-paid berth to the BC Mile. “It’s definitely our plan to make that race,” D’Amato said of the BC Mile. On Del Mar’s turf course, King of Gosford has won once in four career starts, prevailing in the restricted Let It Ride Stakes at a mile last November. Later that month, King of Gosford was second by three-quarters of a length in the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby, finishing behind Formidable Man, who was fourth in the Shoemaker Mile. Mi Hermano Ramon, beaten a neck in the Shoemaker Mile, and Formidable Man, who lost by 1 ¼ lengths, are rated as BC Mile hopefuls by their trainers, Mark Glatt and Michael McCarthy. King of Gosford, a British-bred 4-year-old colt, won for the seventh time in his 17th start in the Shoemaker Mile. Ridden by Flavien Prat, King of Gosford closed from sixth of nine with a sharp rally in the final furlong. King of Gosford races for Sandra Benowitz, John Rochfort, Saul Gevertz, Michael Nentwig, and Jeremy Peskoff. The win on Monday widened D’Amato’s lead in the trainer’s standings at the Santa Anita spring meeting. Through Monday, D’Amato had won 17 races from 71 runners, holding a five-win advantage over Steve Knapp. John Sadler was third with 11 wins. The spring meeting began on April 18 and concludes June 15. The success marks a turnaround from a quiet start of the year for D’Amato, who won with 13 of 124 starters at the track’s winter-spring meeting from Dec. 26 through April 6. D’Amato said the recent results are not a surprise. “We did something a little differently this year, and it looks like it will pay off in the second half of the year,” he said on Wednesday. “We turned a lot of horses out in November and December. Wait until you see all my 3-year-old fillies and colts, and my 2-year-olds. I think we’ll have a strong second half of the year.” :: Santa Anita Clocker Reports are available every race day. Access now. Among 3-year-old fillies, D’Amato’s stable includes Jungle Peace, the winner of the Grade 3 Senorita Stakes on April 27 who was third by a head in the Grade 3 Honeymoon Stakes on May 18; the maiden winners Innovative and Slick; the recent allowance winner Favor to You; and Thought Process, a two-time stakes winner in 2024 who has not raced since a ninth-place finish in the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf at Del Mar last November. The colt Iron Man Cal, second in the BC Juvenile Turf last November, finished sixth in the Grade 1 American Turf Stakes at Churchill Downs on May 3, a $1 million race for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles on turf, in his first start of 2025. He is a candidate for the $100,000 Oceanside Stakes on Del Mar’s opening day, July 18 There are high hopes for two 3-year-old Irish imports: The Padre, who has displayed quick works at Santa Anita this month, and Never Ambling, who was second in his only start in Ireland last month and has worked once at Santa Anita. As for the older horses, Balnikhov, Divin Propos, and Gold Phoenix are candidates for the Eddie Read Stakes. “You can never have enough,” D’Amato said last weekend. “Turf races are tough.” In 2023, D’Amato swept the first four positions in the Read with Gold Phoenix and Balnikhov finishing first and second. In the short term, Motorious, who was second in the BC Turf Sprint and won the Grade 2 Joe Hernandez Stakes on the hillside turf course at Santa Anita in December, is nearing his 2025 return, possibly in the Grade 3 Daytona Stakes on the hillside turf course on June 14. “He’s coming along faster than I thought,” D’Amato said. “He could make the Daytona at the end of the meet.” Stronghold, winner of the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby in 2024, resumed workouts earlier this month at Santa Anita after a late winter rest. Stronghold was 10th of 11 in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park in January. The Grade 2 San Diego Handicap at 1 1/16 miles at Del Mar on July 26 is a possibility for Stronghold. The Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes at six furlongs the same day is another option. Stronghold, by Ghostzapper, is out of Spectator, who won the Grade 2 Sorrento Stakes for 2-year-old fillies at 6 1/2 furlongs for D’Amato in 2017. “Everything would have to go perfect,” D’Amato said of a potential start in the San Diego Handicap. “If not, we could sprint. It’s always been in the back of our minds. Spectator was good at six and seven furlongs and Ghostzappers can do anything.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.