Knightsbridge answers distance question in Pacific Classic rout

The connections of reigning Horse of the Year Sovereignty have yet another Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) contender on their hands, after Knightsbridge ran riot in Saturday’s “Win and You’re In” Pacific Classic (G1) at Del Mar.

A fellow Godolphin homebred trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott and ridden by Junior Alvarado, Knightsbridge has had a totally different career trajectory from Sovereignty. The son of Nyquist has shown brilliance in one-turn races, until his two-turn experiment in the July 18 Monmouth Cup (G3) proved a revelation.

But the Pacific Classic would be the acid test. Could Knightsbridge back up his Monmouth Park effort while stretching out to 1 1/4 miles, in a $1.03 million Breeders’ Cup Challenge event with an abundance of early speed? 

The answer was as blistering as the early pace, as Knightsbridge justified 1.10-1 favoritism. Striding forward from the far outside post 11, he sparred with Full Serrano for the opening mile. Knightsbridge was a half-length up through the first quarter in :23.17, but Full Serrano’s inside position on the clubhouse turn helped him to gain the edge through the half in a punishing :45.94.

Then an implacable Knightsbridge put his head back in front at the six-furlong split in 1:10.02. Full Serrano counterpunched as they matched strides between calls, but when Knightsbridge again headed him passing the mile in 1:35.66, he could fight no more.

Knightsbridge drew off down the lane under good handling. The 6 1/4-length winner took :26.62 to polish off his final quarter, clocking 2:02.28, but Alvarado believed that he had more in reserve.

“When we got to the first turn,” Alvarado said, “I thought we were moving along pretty well, and at the backstretch my horse switched leads to the right, and that’s when I kind of wanted to give him a little breather and kind of engage a little bit again. 

“My horse kind of went on with him (Full Serrano), and I was getting a little worried for how we wanted to go, but at the same time it wasn’t like he was overly trying. He was kind of skipping over the ground. I had my hopes that when I asked him, he would give me his best right when we turned for home. It was all heart there. 

“In the gallop-out, I couldn’t even pull him up; he was going so strong,” Alvarado summed up. “He’s a horse that has a lot of talent.”

Mott also noted that Knightsbridge endured a torrid pace. 

“It was quite impressive. I thought maybe they were going a little too fast down the backside,” Mott said. “They were going :45 and two or three (see corrected fractions above), a pretty honest pace for a mile and a quarter race. They went quick, but gosh he had something to finish with.”

Original Sin closed from last to take second from the brave Full Serrano, who kept on another 1 1/4 lengths adrift in third. The California-bred filly Om N Joy also rallied from far back for fourth. 

The rest were run off their feet. There was a 4 3/4-length gap to Hit Show, trailed by Malarchuk, Forged Steel, British Isles, Navajo Warrior, Subsanador, and Japanese three-year-old Finger, who was eased but walked off. 

Knightsbridge is now a millionaire with $1,523,155 in earnings from a record of 12-8-2-1. His early career was stop-start, but the five-year-old has stayed sound and healthy since last winter. 

Hero of the Mr. Prospector (G3), Fred Hooper (G3), and Gulfstream Park Mile (G2), he regressed to sixth behind Japan’s T O Elvis in the Churchill Downs (G1) on Kentucky Derby Day. Knightsbridge was a much better second to Nysos in the Metropolitan H. (G1) at Saratoga on Belmont Day, setting him up for a breakout at Monmouth.

Bred on the same cross as the recently retired Nysos, Knightsbridge is out of the Bernardini mare Tyburn Brook. He is a half-brother to Grade 1 winner and promising freshman sire Speaker’s Corner. Tyburn Brook is herself a half-sister to Grade/Group 1 scorers Highland Falls and Long River, all progeny of 2006 Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) queen Round Pond.

Read more: Del Mar Oaks (G1), Mile (G2), and Green Flash H. (G2) recaps