King of Gosford wins thrilling Shoemaker Mile by a neck
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ARCADIA, Calif. - King of Gosford’s ascension in California’s turf mile division is complete.
After winning five of his first 10 starts in the state from March 2024 to April 20 of this year, King of Gosford won by far the most prestigious race of his career in Monday’s Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita.
The result was a far cry from a win in the restricted Let It Ride Stakes at Del Mar last November, or even the Grade 2 Mathis Mile for 3-year-olds on turf at Santa Anita in December. The win in the Shoemaker Mile puts King of Gosford on course for a potential start in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Del Mar on Nov. 1.
“This is a breakthrough performance for him,” trainer Phil D’Amato said.
The fourth choice in a field of nine, King of Gosford ($10.80) closed from sixth to win by a neck over 3-1 Mi Hermano Ramon, who finished a nose in front of 30-1 Cabo Spirit. Formidable Man, the winner of the Grade 1 Frank Kilroe Mile in March, finished fourth as the 5-2 favorite, beaten 1 1/4 lengths.
King of Gosford was ridden by Flavien Prat, who kept the 4-year-old British-bred colt in a stalking position on the outside for much of the race. King of Gosford was sixth on the backstretch and had advanced to fifth on the turn when Prat opted to stay to the outside of the leading runners.
King of Gosford was still fifth with a furlong remaining, quickly running past pacesetter Goliad and 57-1 Zio Jo. King of Gosford needed the rest of the stretch to get in front of Cabo Spirit and Mi Hermano Ramon, who were first and second at the eighth pole.
“He was very game,” Prat said.
King of Gosford ran a mile in 1:33.52 and earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 100.
“It was a marvelous ride by Flavien. It all worked out, really,” said winning trainer Phil D’Amato. “The last sixteenth, I saw him find a good gear and I saw him making steady ground on the couple in front of him. I knew it was close and I knew he won at the wire.”
Mi Hermano Ramon, the winner of the Grade 2 Seabiscuit Handicap at Del Mar in November, was third on the backstretch and raced alongside Cabo Spirit in deep stretch under jockey Hector Berrios.
“He had no excuse,” Berrios said. “He was very comfortable. In the stretch, he was the same pace.”
Cabo Spirit, a 6-year-old who won the Grade 3 American Stakes at a mile on turf on April 20, took the lead from Goliad in the final furlong and nearly scored a major upset as the second-longest shot in the field.
“He ran his heart out,” said 54-year-old jockey Frankie Dettori. “It was his best race. He fought to the line. He’s getting better with age, just like me.”
Of the first four finishers, Formidable Man made up the most ground. He was eighth for the first half-mile under jockey Umberto Rispoli, who said the turf course was not as firm as it was for the Kilroe Mile.
“He didn’t have the grip as he did last time,” Rispoli said, noting a light coating of sand on his boots and riding pants. “I knew they’d come back. I think if you run the race 10 times, 10 times you’ll have a different winner.”
Atitlan, winner of the Grade 2 Charles Whittingham Stakes at 1 1/4 miles on turf on May 3, finished fifth, followed by Seal Team, Zio Jo, Goliad, and Seminole Chief. Goliad led by 1 1/2 lengths through an opening quarter-mile in 22.92 seconds and a half-mile in 45.68. He was beaten five lengths.
King of Gosford, a colt by the Northern Meteor stallion Zoustar, races for the partnership of Sandra Benowitz, John Rochfort, Saul Gevertz, Michael Nentwig, and Jeremy Peskoff.
The winner of a minor handicap on the all-weather surface at Dundalk, Ireland, in October 2023, King of Gosford was transferred to California in late 2023. He won his first three starts in California in early 2024, including two sprint stakes for 3-year-olds on Santa Anita’s hillside turf course.
After a second to Formidable Man in the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby and the win in the Mathis Mile, King of Gosford was given a wintertime break. He finished second to Cabo Spirit as the 4-5 favorite in the American Stakes in his comeback, a race D’Amato said last week put King of Gosford on course for the Shoemaker Mile.
King of Gosford proved D’Amato correct late Monday afternoon.
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