King Of Gosford And Prat Get Up Just In Time To Win The Grade I Shoemaker Mile Monday At Santa Anita

__KING OF GOSFORD AND PRAT GET UP JUST IN TIME TO WIN THE GRADE I SHOEMAKER MILE MONDAY AT SANTA ANITA __

ARCADIA, CA (May 26, 2025)—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 I 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 front-runner, Cabo Spirit (30-1), tracking him in second. Goliad set a pace of 22.92, 45.68 and 1:09.47 for six furlongs. By the time the field reached the quarter pole, King of Gosford had already started to improve his position while being trailed intently by Formidable Man, who with Umberto Rispoli up was seeking back-to-back Grade I wins for trainer Michael McCarthy. Ahead of that pair in third was Mi Hermano (3-1) and jockey Hector 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 in 1:21.49 with a head in front of Mi Hermano Ramon. But in the final furlong, King of Gosford came rolling on the outside and in the final strides, surged past both Mi Hermano Ramon and Cabo Spirit to get the victory. King of Gosford crossed the wire a neck in front of Mi Hermano Ramon 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 in 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, which came following a nearly three-month layoff, King of Gosford was beaten three-quarters of a length by Cabo Spirit when second in the GIII American 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 Benowitz Family Trust, CYBT, Saul Gevertz, Michael Nentwig and Jeremy Peskoff. Last year, he won four stakes capped off by the GII Mathis Mile on Dec. 26 at Santa Anita. The win in the Mathis Mile also provided Prat with a milestone victory. It 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. According to D’Amato, King of Gosford “is a handful” to deal with during morning training.

“I have to give a lot of credit to the exercise riders, Roberto and Tony Gutierrez his breeze rider,” D’Amato said. “He makes them work hard. He doesn’t do anything easy. He likes to play around when he works out, but they’ve got his number. He does just as much as he needs to do to be ready to win races like this.”

King of Gosford paid $10.80, $4.80, $3.60. Mi Hermano Ramon, trained by Mark Glatt, returned $4.60 and $3.20. Cabo Spirit, trained by George Papaprodromou, paid $8.00.

Live racing will resume Friday at Santa Anita with a nine-race card starting at 1 p.m.