Knightsbridge steamrolled his way through the winter in South Florida, seemingly establishing himself as the top dirt miler in the country. Sent off the favorite in the Grade 1 Churchill Downs Stakes, a seven-furlong race on May 2 at Churchill Downs, Knightsbridge failed to fire, chasing the early pace and retreating to sixth, 8 1/4 lengths behind Japanese shipper T O Elvis. “I’m totally baffled,” trainer Bill Mott said. “I thought he went into the race good. It was a tougher type of race in the Churchill Downs. “He didn’t run anywhere close to his previous three or four races, but he really wasn’t challenged in those races either. Maybe he needed that. Probably some people feel that’s a crazy thing to say, but sometimes they need to get into a dogfight.” :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. A dogfight certainly awaits Knightsbridge in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap on June 6 at Saratoga. The race is expected to attract Nysos, a winner of 7 of 9 starts, including the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile; Journalism, a winner of three Grade 1 races, including the Preakness; Antiquarian, dominant in the Grade 3 Westchester and the winner of last year’s Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup; Crazy Mason, the 2025 Carter Stakes winner and most recently third in the Churchill Downs; and the Grade 1 winner Saudi Crown. Rated by Merit, a winner of five of six starts, is also expected to run. Disruptor, according to trainer Todd Pletcher, had a fever that forced him to miss a workout last weekend. He remains possible, pending the ability to work this week. Vibe, a winner of three straight, and Point Dume are possible. Prior to the Churchill Downs miscue, Knightsbridge had won four consecutive starts, including the Grade 3 Gulfstream Park Mile. He won that race by 11 1/4 lengths, earning a 112 Beyer Speed Figure, the highest number earned this year by any horse. Mott has been encouraged by Knightsbridge’s recent workouts, including a five-furlong move in 1:01 on Saturday. “Knightsbridge worked pretty good on his own,” Mott said. “I don’t feel the need to put him in company to get him to do anything, whereas Sovereignty, if you want a good work you almost need to give him some company. Sovereignty, the reigning Horse of the Year trained by Mott, worked a half-mile by himself in 49.07 seconds last Saturday as he gets ready for the Grade 1 Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs on June 27. Mott also plans to run Grade 1 winner Baeza in the Foster. He was scheduled to work Tuesday or Wednesday. The Stephen Foster purse was boosted to $2 million last week by Churchill Downs. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.