King of Gosford easily takes Let It Ride Stakes

DEL MAR, Calif. – A winner of two sprint stakes on turf in the spring, King of Gosford won his first stakes at a mile in Thursday’s $102,500 Let It Ride Stakes on opening day of the Del Mar autumn meeting.

The meeting is highlighted by the Breeders’ Cup races, which will be held on Friday and Saturday.

King of Gosford had a comfortable trip in the Let It Ride Stakes on turf, closing from fourth under jockey Flavien Prat to win by 2 1/4 lengths, the widest margin of victory in his career.

King of Gosford ($5) was timed in 1:34.76.

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“He’s still learning,” trainer Phil D’Amato said. “When he opened up daylight, he was still a little bit green. I think a little extra ground wouldn’t be out of the question.”

Heart Headed (4-1) finished second, a head in front of 27-1 British Isles. The remaining order of finish was American Glory, Promissio, Siennois, Take Me To Church, Sine Qua Non, Grogu, and Sketchy.

D’Amato said the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby, a $300,000 race at 1 1/8 miles on turf on Nov. 30 will be considered for King of Gosford, an Irish-bred colt by the Northern Meteor stallion Zoustar.

King of Gosford, who won once in six starts in Ireland as a 2-year-old in 2023, won three consecutive sprints on turf in his first three starts in the United States from mid-March to mid-May. Two of the wins were at about 6 1/2 furlongs on the hillside turf course at Santa Anita in the John Shear Stakes and Desert Code Stakes in the spring.

In the summer at Del Mar, King of Gosford was a troubled sixth in the Oceanside Stakes at a mile, and second in the La Jolla Handicap at 1 1/16 miles. In the Grade 2 Eddie D Stakes on the hillside turf course on Sept. 28, King of Gosford closed from sixth to finish third in his debut against older horses.

The Let It Ride Stakes was restricted to 3-year-olds who has not won a first-place purse of $60,000, other than stakes for statebreds, in races at a mile since April 1.

Owned by the partnership of Sandra Benowitz, John Rochfort, Saul Gevertz, Jeremy Peskoff, and Michael Nentwig, King of Gosford has won 5 of 13 starts and earned $339,692.

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