Bill Mott’s 5-year-old has won 8 of his 12 career starts and has made up for a couple of significant absences earlier in his career with a stunning set of results in the last 12 months. Already a 4-time winner in Grade 3 company, this was his first success at the highest level, which coincided with his first attempt at the 10 furlong trip. A winning time of 2:01.79 and a finishing speed figure of 91.23% are testament to the strong pace set by Knightsbridge and Full Serrano, with the latter eventually fading into 3rd once he was headed at the top of the home stretch. This was a promising return for the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Mile winner, but he wasn’t able to go with the winner when the pace lifted again around the final turn and the gap between the pair (1.40s) when they crossed the line was far too big to think that an improvement in race fitness will help Full Serrano get closer. Knightsbridge recorded a top speed figure of 42.8 mph in this dominant performance and whilst the sectional times do show that Original Sin was faster in the closing stages (in fact, Brendan Walsh’s charge ran the fastest split for 4 of the final 5 furlong splits), I would need to highlight that he was over 2s behind with a half a mile to run. Having been ridden patiently, the long striding runner-up was ridden to close the gap, but the fact that Knightsbridge quickened inside the final furlong and recorded the 2nd fastest run-out speed in the field (31.63 mph) would suggest that he had plenty left to repel the closers if it had been required. “Dominant” is the best word to describe this victory and the only horse to make any significant notes about from the Pacific Classic was the winner.

Knightsbridge was the headline act in this year’s Pacific Classic and having returned at 10/11 Fav in the International markets, the only real doubt was whether he would handle the step up to the 10 furlong trip. He has now answered those questions and having earned his entry to the Breeders’ Cup Classic with this success, all roads must now surely lead to the end of season showcase. He was only 3rd on his previous visit to Keeneland, but that came in the G3 Perryville Stakes in 2024 and he has matured a lot since then. His trainer’s post-race comments that “I know he can go that fast, because we’d run him seven-eighths and a mile. Whether they keep going or not is something else. When they hung up the 45 and change for the half, I thought, ‘Oh, damn. That’s as fast as Siphon and Cigar went when they hooked up in the Classic” (Source: Bloodhorse) would suggest that there was still a little bit of doubt about the trip, but Knightsbridge has answered those stamina questions now.