Knightsbridge annihilates Gulfstream Park Mile rivals
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HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – In what turned out to be little more than a paid public workout, Knightsbridge cruised to his easiest win yet, an eye-catching 11 1/4-length victory over Steal Sunshine and three other totally overmatched rivals in Saturday’s $225,000 Gulfstream Park Mile. The win gave Knightsbridge a sweep of the three one-turn, Grade 3 stakes decided annually during the Gulfstream Park Championship meet.
Knightsbridge, a 5-year-old Godolphin homebred trained by Bill Mott, came into the Gulfstream Park Mile off 4 3/4-length victories in both the seven-furlong Mr. Prospector and one-mile Fred Hooper, for which he earned career-best Beyer Speed Figures of 104 and 105, respectively. He was arguably even better on Saturday.
With regular rider Junior Alvarado aboard, Knightsbridge stalked the early pace of the Grade 1-placed Mika while kept well-reserved in the run down the backstretch. Knightsbridge readily overtook the leader when just lightly roused leaving the three-eighths pole. He then quickly opened a commanding advantage before being eased down by Alvarado from mid-stretch to the wire.
Steal Sunshine raced at the rear of the compact five-horse field, commenced his bid approaching the quarter pole, and split rivals while bumping with Flying Liam near mid-stretch before besting that rival by a half-length to be second best. Mika finished a tiring fourth, following by Bernin Hot, who was being eased at the end.
Following a tele-timer malfunction, the official final time for the Gulfstream Park Mile was listed at 1:35.58 seconds (112 Beyer Speed Figure). Knightsbridge paid $2.40.
“He looked good. It looked like he was gearing him down the last sixteenth of a mile,” Mott said. “He tracked a horse and looked good sitting in behind, which is always good to know. You don’t want a horse who always has to be on the lead. He was content to follow the leader down the backside. It was a perfect setup.”
Mott said after having to stop on Knightsbridge a couple of times over the years, “we got him where we want him now.”
“His last few races against stakes company are extremely good races,” Mott enthused. “It’s time to take on the big boys now. He might go two turns, I don’t know. But there are a couple of really important races coming up at one turn, so we’re not going to do anything silly now.”
Mott said his next target for Knightsbridge will be the Grade 1 Churchill Downs Stakes going seven furlongs on the Kentucky Derby undercard on May 2.
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