Kingman comes back to win Irish 2000 Guineas

Kingman, the beaten favorite when second May 3 in the English 2000 Guineas, made amends with his first classic win in Saturday’s $376,188 Irish 2000 Guineas at The Curragh.

Ridden by James Doyle, Kingman (4-5) closed from fourth in a field of 11 to win by a comfortable five lengths over 7-1 Shifting Power, the pacesetter and another English import. Mustajeeb (4-1) stalked the pace but could not keep up with Kingman in the final furlong.

Kingman ran a mile on a soft to heavy turf course in a slow 1:47.29. The Curragh sustained considerable rain in the days before Saturday’s race, leaving trainer John Gosden to express concern over whether Kingman could handle the surface.

Those fears were alleviated long before the field reached the final quarter-mile.

“Two [furlongs] out, you could see he was cruising,” Gosden told the press.

By Invincible Spirit, Kingman races for Juddmonte Farms and has won four of five starts, including Group 3 races last September and in April. In the English 2000 Guineas, Kingman was beaten a half-length by the 40-1 outsider Night of the Thunder, who did not start in the Group 1 Irish 2000 Guineas.

Night of the Thunder is trained by Richard Hannon, who also trains Shifting Power.

Kingman is expected to make his next start June 17 in the Group 1 St. James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot in England.