Knightsbridge earns Breeders Cup berth with

DEL MAR — Bill Mott was practically 2,500 miles from Del Mar on Saturday evening, but if you listened carefully as the sector raced down the backstretch in the $1 million Pacific Classic, you most likely might hear the Hall of Fame coach scream.

Thirty years in the past, Mott introduced Cigar to this same observe for this same race, hoping his famous person horse would set the modern-day North American report for consecutive victories. But Cigar, at odds of 1-10, obtained caught up in a velocity duel and wound up dropping to a 39-1 long shot named Dare and Go.

Now it appeared prefer it may be occurring again.

Knightsbridge went off at odds of 11-10 instead of Cigar’s 1-10 and he wasn’t racing for historical past, but the race took on an eerie similarity as the favourite dueled head-and-head with Full Serrano for a lot of the 1¼ miles. And they had been going fast — not fairly as fast as Cigar but close enough (1 minute, 10.02 seconds to 1:09.29) for some anguish.

“I thought maybe they were going a little too fast down the backside,” Mott told Del Mar publicity by telephone from Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

He had no method of realizing, but so did his jockey.

“I was a little worried we were going a little too fast,” Junior Alvarado said.

As it turned out, neither man had cause to fear. Knightsbridge had a short lead as the 2 horses handed the mile marker, and when they straightened out in the stretch, the race was over. He continued on, Full Serrano weakened, and the others had been too far back.

The closing time was 2:02.28, with Original Sin 6¼ lengths behind in second and Full Serrano third. Om N Joy, the first filly to strive the Pacific Classic in a decade, completed fourth, adopted by Hit Show, Malarchuk, Forged Steel, British Isles, Navajo Warrior, Subsanador and Finger, a Japanese 3-year-old.

With the victory, price $4.20 to his backers and $600,000 to house owners Godolphin, Knightsbridge earned an automated berth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Oct. 31 at Keeneland. But whether or not he runs in that race or the Dirt Mile can be a choice for Mott and Godolphin, who also have Sovereignty, last yr’s horse of the yr and the top-ranked horse in the Breeders’ Cup’s initial ballot for Classic contenders.

“They’re two different horses,” said Alvarado, who rides both. “It’s nearly impossible to [compare]. This horse carries a lot of speed. The other horse has a hell of a turn of foot coming for home … from the half-mile all the way to the wire, very strong at a mile and a quarter. I don’t recall having such a strong finisher like Sovereignty. So it’s going to be interesting. We got time just to decide what we’re going to do next.”

The concept that Knightsbridge would even be under consideration for the 1¼-mile Classic would have been unthinkable until last month; his first 10 profession races had been all around one flip at either seven furlongs or a mile. But Mott determined to strive him at 1⅛ miles in the Monmouth Cup on July 18 at Monmouth Park, and the 5-year-old son of Nyquist gained by 10¼ lengths in a time that earned him the quickest Beyer Speed Figure of the yr (122).

With the West Coast handicap division weakened, Mott figured it was a good time to strive the Pacific Classic again. He had gained the race in 2008 with Go Between and loved other successes right here, including last yr’s Breeders’ Cup Distaff with Scylla, but he also had to scratch Sovereignty from last yr’s Breeders’ Cup Classic when the horse obtained sick.

Now he has another optimistic reminiscence — his second win in Del Mar’s signature race, which has been gained by only two other trainers not based in California, Todd Pletcher (Fierceness last yr) and Dale Romans (Dullahan in 2012).

“It was quite impressive,” Mott said. “They went quick, but gosh he had something to finish with.”

The victory accomplished a Grade 1 sweep Saturday for Alvarado, who one race earlier captured the $300,000 Del Mar Oaks aboard Tam Tam ($7.40) for coach Philip Bauer.

How did he plan to have fun?

“We’re going to celebrate it going back to New York tonight on the red-eye flight,” he said, smiling.

In the other Breeders’ Cup Challenge race right here Saturday, the 5-year-old gelding Sorrento Sky ($16), ridden by Umberto Rispoli for coach Phil D’Amato, earned a spot in the Turf Sprint by capturing the $200,000 Green Flash Handicap by a size over No Nay Hudson. D’Amato and Rispoli also gained the $300,000 Del Mar Mile with King of Gosford ($12.40).

The crowd of 15,187 was a 13% increase from last yr. The mutuel deal with of $29.14 million was the second highest in Del Mar historical past outdoors of the Breeders’ Cup, surpassed only by $36.02 million in 2021 when there was a Pick 6 carryover and obligatory payout.