With quarter crack healed, Zulu Kingdom will be tough in Pennine Ridge
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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Zulu Kingdom immediately made New York his domain when he arrived from Europe last year. He returns to Saratoga as a Grade 1 winner and the 6-5 morning-line favorite in Saturday’s Grade 3, $300,000 Pennine Ridge for sophomores on the turf.
In the field of 10 entered for the Pennine Ridge – a local prep for the Grade 1, $750,000 Belmont Derby July 4 at Saratoga – the classy Zulu Kingdom is the lone graded stakes winner. The other multiple stakes winner in the field is Mi Bago, who is not certain to run, pending course conditions. The only other stakes winner in the field is Tom’s Magic, who took the Black Gold in March but was well beaten in his only graded attempt.
After winning his debut in France, Zulu Kingdom was purchased to come to the U.S. for Madaket Stables, Michael Dubb, William Strauss, and Michael Caruso. He won the Grade 3 With Anticipation at Saratoga and Grade 2 Pilgrim at Aqueduct for Chad Brown, then had his only blip when fading to seventh in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Del Mar, a race in which rider Flavien Prat lost his crop.
Zulu Kingdom returned to action winning the Columbia at Tampa Bay Downs. Runner-up Reagan’s Wit won a stakes on the Preakness undercard.
Zulu Kingdom was well placed throughout his next start, the Grade 1 American Turf, on a wet Kentucky Derby Day at Churchill Downs. He edged clear in the stretch to win by 1 1/4-lengths over Test Score – a last-out winner of the Grade 3 Transylvania – on a course officially rated “good.”
“It was on softer turf, which I think he can handle very well,” Brown said. “So we’ll see what the turf conditions are, but he’s doing very well.”
Zulu Kingdom developed a quarter crack after the American Turf, which Brown described as “a little hiccup.” The ridgling breezed May 23 and May 30.
“It came together a little quicker than I thought it would, so he’s all systems go,” Brown said. “I missed a few days of training with him, but it’s pretty far in the rearview, and he’s had some steady work since.”
Front-running four-time stakes winner Mi Bago prefers firm turf, and there is more than a 50 percent chance of rain in the forecast Friday and Saturday. The colt caught courses officially rated good in the Transylvania at Keeneland – although it was on the softer side after historic rain – and in the American Turf at Churchill. He faded to 10th in the Transylvania and finished a grudging fourth in the American Turf.
“He ran really good at Churchill, got caught late,” trainer Mark Casse said. “That was a fair amount of give in the ground.”
Mi Bago was entered in the Grade 3 Penn Mile on May 30, but the race was postponed due to inclement weather, and he was rerouted to the Pennine Ridge. Casse said his status for the race will be discussed as the forecast develops, and he could yet wind up in the Penn Mile, now set for June 20.
Flying Mohawk has earned both his career wins on grass, but with different tactics. His preferred style will continue to develop as he now focuses strictly on turf racing, trainer Whit Beckman indicated. The colt was a closing second after a poor start in the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby on Tapeta, prompting a shot in the Kentucky Derby, in which he was 18th on a sloppy, sealed track in his first dirt start.
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