Saratoga Race Course has provided a mixed bag of adventures for multiple grade 1 winner Zulu Kingdom.
Now a 4-year-old ridgling, his first two starts at the Spa resulted in grade 3 stakes wins.
Then, in last year's National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes (G2T) at the Spa, he was sent off as a 4-5 favorite and crossed the wire first, only to be the victim of a controversial disqualification to fourth for an incident on the first turn.
After winning the Mile Stakes (G1T) at Keeneland to open this year, he returned in the June 7 Poker Stakes (G3T) at the Spa, where he was a huge 3-10 favorite in a field of five. He set comfortable fractions but weakened in the final furlong of the mile stakes and finished third.
Off that surprising loss last month, the son of Ten Sovereigns will get a chance to make amends July 5 at Saratoga when he faces the top two Poker finishers in the $225,000 Kelso Stakes (G3T).
The mile Kelso attracted a field of 14, including three main-track-only entrants, and features six graded stakes winners. It promises to be an excellent barometer of whether the Poker was a fluke or a sign of declining form for Zulu Kingdom.
Trained by Chad Brown and owned by Sol Kumin's Madaket Stables, Michael Dubb, William Strauss, and Michael Caruso, Zulu Kingdom has won seven of 10 career starts, including the American Turf Stakes (G1T) last year, with earnings of $1,272,637.
On Sunday, he'll meet up again with trainer Bill Mott's duo of Pin Oak Stud's Pass the Hat and Tranquility Lake Farms' Capitol Hill, who were noses apart when finishing 1-2, respectively, 1 3/4 lengths ahead of Zulu Kingdom in the Poker.
Pass the Hat, a son of Collected , made his stakes debut in the Poker a winning one, as he followed Zulu Kingdom in second before taking the lead in the final furlong and narrowly holding off his Mott stablemate at the wire.
Capitol Hill, an Into Mischief 4-year-old, will be seeking his first stakes win in his 12th career start. Besides his runner-up finish in the Poker, he was second to Zulu Kingdom in last year's Manila Stakes (G3T) at the Spa.
Fittingly, Red White and Blue Racing and CMNWLTH's Neat will be in action this Fourth of July weekend, looking to become a millionaire.
Winner of the 2024 Hall of Fame Stakes, the 5-year-old son of Constitution has earned $999,110 coming into the Kelso. He started 2026 slowly, but is exiting a May 30 victory in the Cliff Hanger Stakes at Monmouth Park.
It was his first win since the Hall of Fame Aug. 2, 2024.
"It was really nice to see him get the win in his last race after having a tough time last year with bad trips and unlucky circumstances. It was really nice to get him back in the winner's circle and in form," said trainer Rob Atras.
Finishing a troubled second in the Cliff Hanger was Juddmonte's homebred Kingman colt Cosmic Year. Making his first start since moving to the United States and Brown's barn, he had traffic issues in the stretch and wound up second by a neck.
While starting his career in Great Britain, he was second in the Irish Two Thousand Guineas (G1) last year.
The Sunday card also includes the $200,000 Harvey Pack Stakes and the Leo O'Brien Handicap (NSA-1).
Saratoga Race Course, Sunday, July 5, 2026, Race 6Entries: Kelso S. (G3T)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Zulu Kingdom (IRE) Flavien Prat 124 Chad C. Brown 5/2 2 2Maycocks Bay (KY) Joel Rosario 124 Michael Stidham 15/1 3 3My Boy Prince (ON) Dylan Davis 124 Mark E. Casse 9/2 4 4Neat (KY) Reylu Gutierrez 122 Rob Atras 15/1 5 5Pass the Hat (KY) John R. Velazquez 124 William I. Mott 6/1 6 6Cruise the Nile (NJ) Jorge Ruiz 122 H. Graham Motion 8/1 7 7Itsallcomintogetha (NY) Jaime Rodriguez 120 Lisa Bartkowski 30/1 8 8Mi Bago (NY) Jose L. Ortiz 122 Mark E. Casse 12/1 9 9Cosmic Year (GB) Manuel Franco 120 Chad C. Brown 6/1 10 10Tiz Dashing (KY) Javier Castellano 124 Barclay Tagg 10/1 11 11Capitol Hill (KY) Junior Alvarado 120 William I. Mott 10/1 12 12Castle Chaos (KY) Rider TBA 124 Ilkay Kantarmaci 8/1 13 13Kinetic (KY) Manuel Franco 124 Ilkay Kantarmaci 5/1 14 14Dr. Kraft (NY) Silvestre Gonzalez 124 Ilkay Kantarmaci 4/1
