King of Gosford rallies to win by neck in Shoemaker Mile
King of Gosford uncorked a furious rally from mid-pack under Flavien Prat and got up just in a time to prevail in a three-way photo and earn his first Grade 1 win in Monday’s $300,000 Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita.
Trained by Phil D’Amato, King of Gosford (4-1) initially settled near the rear of the field as Goliad (9-1) raced off for the lead with another typical frontrunner, Cabo Spirit (30-1), tracking him in second. Goliad set a pace of 22.92, 45.68 and 1:09.47 for six furlongs.
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By the time the field reached the quarter pole, King of Gosford started to improve his position while being trailed intently by Formidable Man, who with Umberto Rispoli up was seeking back-to-back Grade 1 wins for trainer Michael McCarthy. Ahead of that pair in third was Mi Hermano Ramón (3-1) and jockey Héctor Berrios.
As Goliad weakened at the top of the stretch, Cabo Spirit with Frankie Dettori aboard was the new leader. They reached the eighth pole with a time of 1:21.49, a head in front of Mi Hermano Ramón. In the final furlong King of Gosford came rolling on the outside and, in the final strides, surged past both Mi Hermano Ramón and Cabo Spirit to get the victory.
King of Gosford crossed the wire a neck in front of Mi Hermano Ramón with another nose back to Cabo Spirit in third. It was a length more back to Formidable Man in fourth.
“I thought they were going fast enough in the first quarter,” Prat said. “Once the field started to spread out, we started to pick it up on the backside. I was just hoping they would come back to me. I thought about going inside but knew he would have a good turn of foot, so we went around them, and he got there.”
King of Gosford won with a time of 1:33.52. Bred in Great Britain, he is a 4-year-old colt by Zoustar. In his previous start April 20 off a nearly three-month layoff, King of Gosford was beaten by three-quarters of a length by Cabo Spirit finishing second in the American (G3) going a mile on turf at Santa Anita.
“I was expecting his best performance, and I was hoping it was going to be a win,” D’Amato said. “I think Flavien learned a little something in defeat last time about making his move. But he knew and I knew that going into that last race, it was a tune up for this race, and it worked out well.”
King of Gosford, who began his career in Ireland, is campaigned domestically by the Benowitz family trust, CYBT, Saul Gevertz, Michael Nentwig and Jeremy Peskoff. Last year he won four stakes capped by the Mathis Mile (G2) on Dec. 26 at Santa Anita. That was Prat’s 56th graded-stakes win of 2024, a record for a calendar year by a jockey.
“This horse is a really good horse, and he has a special place with me,” Prat said.
King of Gosford improved to 17: 7-3-2 with $719,962 in earnings. He paid $10.80, $4.80, $3.60. Mi Hermano Ramón, trained by Mark Glatt, returned $4.60 and $3.20. Cabo Spirit, trained by George Papaprodromou, paid $8.00.