Mott, Godolphin have decisions to make after Knightsbridge's 122 Beyer
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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. − The two-turn experiment for Knightsbridge went better than even his connections could have hoped Saturday at Monmouth Park, and now, trainer Bill Mott and his owners, Godolphin Racing, have some things to think about regarding the 5-year-old son of Nyquist for the last third of the year.
Knightsbridge, who had won six of his first 10 starts − all around one turn − galloped to a 10 1/4-length victory in Saturday’s Grade 3 Monmouth Cup. His final time of 1:47.51 for 1 1/8 miles translated to a 122 Beyer Speed Figure. That is the highest figure since Flightline earned a 126 winning the Pacific Classic in September 2022.
Coincidentally, Flightline was making his first start around two turns in that year’s Pacific Classic, run at 1 1/4 miles, and his previous race was the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap. Knightsbridge was coming out of a runner-up finish to Nysos in the Met Mile.
“Will he do that consistently?” Mott, laughing, said about the 122 Beyer. “He’s a pretty fast horse.”
Mott said he chose the Monmouth Cup for Knightsbridge because he was looking to bridge the gap from the Met Mile to the Grade 1 Forego, a seven-furlong race at Saratoga on Aug. 29. Now, going farther, not shorter, may be in the cards.
“Now, we don’t know how good he is at a mile and a quarter,” Mott said.
Mott said discussions with Godolphin officials will take place this week and obviously how to proceed with Knightsbridge will be a hot topic. Mott also trains 2025 Horse of the Year Sovereignty for Godolphin and that horse is earmarked for the Grade 1 Whitney on Aug. 8.
Should Mott and Godolphin want to continue the distance experiment with Knightsbridge, he could be considered for races like the Pacific Classic on Aug. 22 at Del Mar or perhaps the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park on Sept. 18, both Grade 1 stakes at 1 1/4 miles.
Knightsbridge had several stops and starts to his career in his younger days. It wasn’t until last fall when he began to string together races consecutively. He won an allowance at Aqueduct followed by a trio of Grade 3 stakes at Gulfstream Park capped by an 11 1/4-length victory in the Gulfstream Park Mile in which he earned a 112 Beyer. He disappointed in the Grade 1 Churchill Downs, finishing sixth, before finishing second behind Nysos in the Grade 1 Met Mile. Nysos is pointing to the Pacific Classic.
“As far as [making] a stallion goes, I think winning the mile races are very important,” Mott said. “He was second in the Met Mile to a very good horse. But I think for a horse to display his ability as a stallion prospect I think we accomplished that. I think he opened some eyes when he was in Florida this winter and of course once again yesterday.”
It could be an intriguing fall for one of racing’s fastest horses.
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