Knightsbridge surges, Life and Times fades in Fred Hooper Stakes
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HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - What was expected to be a two-horse race between undefeated Life and Times and Grade 3 winner Knightsbridge in Saturday’s $175,000 Fred Hooper Stakes turned out to be a showcase for Knightsbridge, who drew away to a popular and very impressive 4 3/4-length victory over the 25-1 Back Em Up at Gulfstream Park.
Life and Times finished a tiring and well-beaten third in the Grade 3 race run at one mile over the main track.
Knightsbridge, winner of the Grade 3 Mr. Prospector in a similar one-sided fashion here last month, and Life and Times, who won his only two previous starts by a combined 12 1/2 lengths, wasted little time locking horns on the lead. The two dueled through grueling early fractions of 23.64 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 45.25 to the half.
Knightsbridge stuck his head in front while racing outside Life and Times on the turn before gradually edging clear entering the stretch. He then extended his advantage while kept out in the better footing away from the rail by jockey Junior Alvarado in the run through the lane.
Back Em Up raced well placed in the second flight and was easily best of the others while also finishing out near the middle of the track. It was another 3 1/2 lengths farther back to the tiring Life and Times, who was making his stakes debut.
Bill Mott trains Knightsbridge, a 5-year-old Godolphin homebred by Nyquist who completed the distance over a fast track in 1:35.12 (105 Beyer Speed Figure) and paid $3.80 for his fifth victory in seven lifetime starts.
Mott said the first thing that came to mind when watching the two favorites head to head for the lead down the backstretch was “this is a pretty good horse race. We’ll find out what the other one (Life and Times.) is made of.”
In the end, however, it was the more experienced and accomplished Knightsbridge who survived the early duel.
“We had more experience and more seasoning than the other one and our horse (Knightsbridge) was on his game today,” Mott said. “This was the third race in this cycle and he is finally up to showing what we always thought he could do. He’s shown signs of that before, with some big wins, but I thought this was his best race yet because he was up against the best company he’s faced so far.”
Mott said he is undecided what's next for Knightsbridge, although he acknowledged there was one more one-turn race on the stakes schedule here this winter, referring to the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Mile on Feb. 28.
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