DEL MAR, Calif. – Given that Kings River Knight’s recent victory was the lowest-rated stakes win of his career but his eighth overall, horseplayers face a dilemma Saturday at Del Mar.
Kings River Knight is favored against 10 statebreds in the $150,000 California Dreamin’ Stakes at a mile and a sixteenth on turf. But what to make of his grinding victory in the Bertrando Stakes on June 21 at Los Alamitos?
Kings River Knight started at 3-10, won by only a length and a quarter, and earned a mere 89 Beyer Speed Figure, one which matched the humdrum visual impression.
After gutting out the Bertrando while running below his typical Beyers in the mid-90s, the question facing Kings River Knight on Saturday is twofold: Can he still run fast, or has he lost a step at age 7?
The leading active Cal-bred earner with $770,330 from winning 12 of 19 starts, Kings River Knight faces legit rivals in the California Dreamin’. The three most likely to give the chalk a battle are Bertrando runner-up Mr. Disrespectful; Aligato, a stakes winner training like he will fire in his comeback; and lightly raced Pure Madness, who will make his first start since September.
John Sadler has trained Kings River Knight since early 2023, during which time the gelding has won nine of 12 starts, including eight stakes. Kings River Knight is virtually automatic, but last time out over a Los Alamitos surface he relishes, he was in deep water at the quarter pole. He was asked to respond, but initially he made no headway behind pacesetter Mr. Disrespectful.
“I think the second-place horse is better than we thought,” Sadler said.
Kings River Knight wore down Los Alamitos-based Mr. Disrespectful and inched clear late. That race was six weeks ago, and since arriving at Del Mar, Sadler said Kings River Knight “has been bright down here, he’s sharp. He has better spacing [six weeks between starts].”
Kings River Knight won maiden and allowance turf races at Del Mar in 2022. He finished second as the odds-on favorite in his only other Del Mar start in the 2023 California Dreamin’. Kings River Knight entered that race off a 96-Beyer win in the Bertrando. This Saturday, he enters off an 89-Beyer win in the Bertrando.
Juan Hernandez rides Kings River Knight, a front-runner/pace-presser whose versatility will be necessary in a field with other speed, including comebacker Pure Madness. Brian Koriner trains Pure Madness, who won three of four starts last year but has not raced since September.
“I think it’s easier to train a horse to go long on the grass than to sprint [off a layoff], especially horses that are natural athletes” Koriner said.
Tyler Baze has been working Pure Madness and rides him Saturday.
If Kings River Knight, Pure Madness, and Mr. Disrespectful hook up early, the California Dreamin’ could unfold in favor of late-running stakes winner Aligato. An 8-year-old, Aligato has not raced since January. The layoff is no big deal, according to trainer Mark Glatt, who describes the gelding’s comeback works as “really good,” adding that “he’s been off for a while” and “runs really good fresh.”
Antonio Fresu rides Aligato.
The California Dreamin’, won by favorites nine times in its 19-year history, is race 9 on Saturday and the first leg in the 15 percent takeout $3 late pick three that includes the race-10 Grade 1 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes and a race-11 turf allowance.
Others entered in the California Dreamin’ include Annan, Clouseau, Miss Joe’s Curlin, Barely Funtional, Coalinga Road, Takes Three, and Mystic Spirit.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.