Godolphin's Knightsbridge approved of his step up in trip to race two turns, cruising to a front-running 10 1/4-length victory over Money Game in the $343,000 Monmouth Cup Stakes (G3) July 18 at Monmouth Park.
Knightsbridge broke alertly under rider Flavien Prat, going straight to the lead and never looking back. The 5-year-old son of Darley stallion Nyquist set comfortable fractions of :23.38, :46.57, and 1:10.63 in the 1 1/8-mile race while chased by Skippylongstocking, before putting that one and all his rivals away.
"I had him relaxed most of the first part (of the race)," Prat said. "I just let him run on the backside and try to get away from the pressure, and after that, he was there for me every step of the way."
Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) winner Skippylongstocking, well positioned, weakened surprisingly quickly on the second turn, passed by Money Game, but not even that one could get close to the winner. Skippylongstocking held on to show, but was more than 29 lengths behind the winner in a strung-out short field.
The winner clocked a final time of 1:47.51 over a fast track.
"He passed the two-turn test today, indeed," Godolphin USA director of bloodstock Michael Banahan said. "If you're trying the two-turn test, this is a great racetrack to do it because speed can carry."
The Bill Mott-trained Knightsbridge notched his third graded stakes victory this year, paying $3 to win for a $2 ticket.
A half brother to another Godolphin homebred in grade 1 winner and sire Speaker's Corner , Knightsbridge is out of the unraced Bernardini mare Tyburn Brook, a daughter of multiple grade 1 winner Round Pound.
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Grayosh Rallies to Take Matchmaker
Flanagan Racing's Grayosh scored a pack-splitting victory in the $297,000 Matchmaker Stakes (G3T) later on the card, giving trainer Chad Brown a seventh consecutive win in the 1 1/8-mile turf race. He has won 10 of the past 12 renewals of the race.
Grayosh took up a position from midpack early under Tyler Gaffalione, stalking the pace behind a front-running trio led by eager longshot Creative Stuff, who established the pace through an opening quarter-mile and half-mile respectively in :24.68 and :49.75, with City Girl just behind. The latter then took over with 6 furlongs in 1:14.74, though she would be passed in the stretch by Long Ago, who bid from third.
None of them could withstand the stretch kick of Grayosh. The gray and/or roan 5-year-old daughter of Yoshida instantly responded to Gaffalione's urging just before the far turn and shifted into high gear once given a clear path in the lane. She overhauled the leaders in the final eighth of a mile. The winner clocked a final time of 1:50.99 over a firm turf course that had not yet been downgraded after afternoon rain.
"She put herself in a great spot and traveled like a winner throughout. I waited for the spot, and as soon as it opened, she didn't hesitate," the rider said.
Grayosh defeated Long Ago by a length, with Grayosh's favored stablemate City Girl a neck back in third. The winner paid $19.60 for a $2 win ticket.
As part of the conditions of the Matchmaker, sponsored by WinStar Farm, the owners of the top three finishers receive a one-time breeding right for their fillies and mares to be covered by designated WinStar Farm stallions.
Grayosh, out of the Paddy O'Prado mare Rosie O'Prado, was sold to Flanagan Racing for $25,000 at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearlings Sale from the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment.
Her sire, Yoshida, stood four seasons at WinStar before being relocated to Darley Japan for the 2024 breeding season.
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Bear Market for Program Trading
Brown's graded stakes achievements continued four races later at Monmouth when Klaravich Stables' Program Trading swept past rivals to score a decisive victory from far off the pace in the $500,000 United Nations Stakes (G2T).
Off a step slow at the start, Program Trading was taken back to his stalking position in sixth, just ahead of trailer Eldest Son. There he remained for a mile of the 1 3/8-mile turf race, as front-runners Just a Touch and Uncle's Gold went quickly through initial fractions of :24.29, :49.62, and 1:15.35 over a rain-softened course rated as good.
With Prat aboard, Program Trading was guided to advance on the leaders over the last of three turns before circling wide in the stretch run past runner-up Uncle's Gold and third-place Thundering on his way to scoring by 2 3/4 lengths. He was timed in 2:19.77 for the distance.
Second favorite Just a Touch faded to last when turning for home and was eased.
The victory was Program Trading's second straight at the stakes level as a 6-year-old. As a younger horse, he won three grade 1s at ages 3 and 4. He paid $3.80 for a $2 win ticket as the favorite.
"Everything went well, the soft ground, a good pace, and he relaxed well for me," said Prat, who won four races on the card. "It's good to see him back at this top level. I think this race will give him a ton of confidence and that's what he needed."
"They went kind of fast in the front for this distance," Brown assistant Luis Cabrera said. "So when he was far back, I knew he would make his run because the fractions were fast for this distance."
Program Trading, bred in Great Britain by Fittocks Stud and Arrow Farm and Stud, is a 6-year-old ridgling by Lope de Vega out of the Oasis Dream mare Dreamlike.
Bloodstock agent Mike Ryan bought Program Trading for the equivalent of $356,551 in 2021 from the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.
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