6th-Gulfstream, $72,000, Alw (NW1X)/Opt. Clm ($75,000), 3-28, 3yo, 1m, 1:36.75, ft, 9 lengths.
KNIGHTSBRIDGE (c, 3, Nyquist–Tyburn Brook, by Bernardini), a jaw-dropping debut winner going seven furlongs at Churchill Downs Nov. 4, returned to the races in style at Gulfstream Park Thursday afternoon. The 1-9 favorite, drawn widest of all in post five, broke alertly and held a narrow advantage through an opening quarter in :23.40. Facing continued pressure through a half mile in :45.40, the 'TDN Rising Star' began to shake free turning for home and dropped the hammer in the stretch while racing under wraps to win by nine lengths. Sea Streak (Sea Wizard) was second.
Knightsbridge is a half-brother to Speaker's Corner (Street Sense), GISW, $739,963. After producing a filly by Street Sense in 2023, the winner's dam was bred back to Street Sense and Curlin. Knightsbridge's second dam is GI Breeders' Cup Distaff heroine Round Pond (Awesome Again).
“He's been off a while. His first race was good. This race was good,” Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott said. “He had a couple of setbacks trying to get ready. Maybe we would have preferred to be ready a month ago or sooner, but this is the way it worked out. Fortunately, we were able to get the race here. I'm grateful that the race filled and we were able to get the race in him.”
Knightsbridge could turn up next in the GII Pat Day Mile S. at Churchill Downs on the undercard of the first leg of the Triple Crown, per Mott.
“We had a little of this and a little of that – just the stuff you go through when you come to Florida. Who knows? Maybe, it's all for the better,” Mott said. “We nominated for the Triple Crown, but I didn't feel like we had enough momentum to think about it.”
Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $112,200. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-William I. Mott.
#6 KNIGHTSBRIDGE ($2.20) wins impressively at Gulfstream Park with @JuniorandKellyA in the irons for trainer Bill Mott. The 3YO colt by @DarleyAmerica's Nyquist is owned and bred by @godolphin. pic.twitter.com/Pqg4Axbcfx
— TVG (@TVG) March 28, 2024
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