The Shoemaker Mile Stakes headlines a loaded Memorial Day card May 25 at Santa Anita Park that features three graded stakes, and the $300,000, Grade 1 stakes drew a competitive field of nine older horses. Six of the nine entries in this year’s edition are graded stakes winners. Last year’s winner, King of Gosford, is back to defend his title for trainer Phil D’Amato, who has won this one-mile turf test five times since 2014. Five horses have won consecutive runnings of the Shoemaker, the most recent being Obviously in 2013 and 2014.
Here’s a look at the field from the inside (rail) post position out:
El Potente was competing at the maiden claiming level just three years ago but started to flourish at the age of 6, when he earned his first graded stakes victory in the Grade 3 Thunder Road Stakes at Santa Anita last year. The 7-year-old son of Temple City won the Thunder Road again in February; he is trained by Dan Blacker and will have regular rider Hector Berrios back aboard. Multiple Grade 1 winner Formidable Man finished runner-up last time out in the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile Presented by PDJF and will be coming off a nearly seven-month layoff for trainer Michael McCarthy. Flavien Prat will be aboard for the first time since the horse’s maiden win in 2023. Last year’s Shoemaker Mile winner King of Gosford will be making his second start after nearly an eight-month layoff for trainer Phil D’Amato and will have Kazushi Kimura in the irons for the first time. The 5-year-old horse finished fourth by 1 ¾ lengths last time out in the Grade 3 American Stakes at Santa Anita in April to three rivals in this race. Genius Jimmy, the second Michael McCarthy entrant, finished second by just a neck last time out in the American Stakes and seeks his first graded stakes victory in the Shoemaker Mile. Regular rider Juan Hernandez retains the mount. Almendares, the second D’Amato trainee, won the American Stakes last time out over fellow rivals in this race Genius Jimmy, Seal Team, King of Gosford, and Twirling Point. Antonio Fresu, who has two wins from 10 mounts aboard Almendares, retains the mount following their win together in the American Stakes. Last year’s second-place finisher in the Shoemaker Mile, Mi Hermano Ramon, will be making the third start of his 6-year-old campaign for trainer Mark Glatt. Emisael Jaramillo retains the mount for Glatt as they seek their sixth win from just their upcoming 11th start together all-time. Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella saddles Seal Team, a 6-year-old War Front gelding who will be making his seventh consecutive graded stakes appearance. Seal Team’s last win came in the 2023 Grade 2 Twilight Derby at Santa Anita and will have Joel Rosario aboard for the first time. Call Me Cory, the only entrant under the age of 5, won his first career race going this mile distance on the turf at Santa Anita in March and went gate-to-wire last time out in April at the allowance optional claiming level under Mike Smith, who remains aboard for trainer Ryan Hanson. Twirling Point, who was claimed two starts back for $50,000, drew the far outside for trainer Blaine Wright. The 5-year-old Twirling Candy gelding finished sixth in the American Stakes last time out in his first start off the claim and will have Ricardo Gonzalez back aboard.
Analysis and Main Contenders:
Formidable Man faces a tough task, coming off a nearly seven-month layoff to compete in a Grade 1 stakes against five other graded stakes winners in his 5-year-old debut. Despite this, the son of City of Light has proven time and time again he can compete at the highest level, particularly in his home state of California. As a 3-year-old, Formidable Man became a multiple graded stakes winner, winning both the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby and Grade 1 Hollywood Derby going 1 1/8-miles on the turf at Del Mar. He returned for his 4-year-old campaign and shipped to Gulfstream Park for a disappointing last-place finish in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes Presented by Qatar Racing, but since then he has done little wrong. Formidable Man shipped back to Santa Anita in March of last year to win the Grade 1 Frank E. Kilroe Mile Stakes, rallying up the rail from sixth at the third point of call to post a half-length victory that earned him a 105 Equibase Speed Figure. A couple months later, Formidable Man finished well in last year’s Shoemaker Mile but settled for fourth by 1 ¼ lengths; however, he improved his Equibase figure to 108. He again improved to a 110 Equibase figure in his next start when returning to the 1 1/8-mile distance, proving best in the Grade 2 Eddie Read Stakes at Del Mar. Formidable Man returned to the mile distance in August, winning the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile Stakes by 1 ½ lengths, and he again improved to a 111 Equibase figure. Last out, he finished a hard-fought second in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, outperforming his 18.50-1 odds in a race with a 122 class rating. He finished runner-up behind multiple Grade/Group 1 winner Notable Speech, who most recently won the Group 1 BOYLE Sports Lockinge Stakes at Newbury in England on May 16 in an ultra-impressive performance. Other contenders from the Breeders’ Cup Mile have had subsequent success, including fourth-place finisher Rhetorical, who recently dominated the Grade 1 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic Stakes by 3 ¼ lengths.
Formidable Man has been training sharply since the Breeders’ Cup Mile, breezing five furlongs in :59.60 in his most recent work at Santa Anita. There are only two true front-runners and three contenders with early speed in the Shoemaker, and Formidable Man is versatile enough to sit just off an expected honest pace or, if needed, rally late with his first-ranked late pace rating of a 115.0 if needed at this mile distance, where he has four wins and two seconds from eight starts. A meaningful positive is that Flavien Prat is back aboard, reunited with Formidable Man for the first time since their debut maiden special weight in September 2023 at this mile distance on turf at Del Mar. Over the past five years, Prat wins at 30% from 161 mounts when reunited with a horse he has won on. Furthermore, Prat and Michael McCarthy win at a tremendous 42% in all races together at Santa Anita over the past three years, totaling 16 victories from 38 starts and 71% top-three finishes. In just graded stakes races at all tracks, they win at 47% and have a 93% rate in the top three. Formidable Man fits the bill in this race and has the ability to overcome the long layoff, especially considering his winning connections.
El Potente drew a perfect post for his running style and is poised to set the pace while being able to save ground around the two turns. He became a different horse at the age of 6 when he earned a 120 Equibase figure for a three-length win in the Thunder Road Stakes in February of 2025. Since then, El Potente has made four more consecutive graded stakes appearances, never finishing worse than fourth by 3 ¾ lengths. Following the 2025 Thunder Road, he took a seven-month layoff and returned in November to run a narrow third by just a half-length in the Grade 2 Seabiscuit Handicap when stretching out to 1 1/16 miles. About a month later, El Potente made a bid in the Grade 2 Joe Hernandez Stakes when trying the downhill Santa Anita turf at about 6 ½ furlongs, finishing fourth. He returned in February as a 7-year-old at his preferred mile distance and drew clear to win the Thunder Road by 3 ¾ lengths for the second consecutive year. Last time out, El Potente finished second by a half-length in the Frank E. Kilroe Mile, finishing 1 ¼ lengths ahead of Almendares, who came back to beat almost half of this field in the American Stakes. El Potente has six wins from nine starts over the Santa Anita turf and is 8-for-8 in the top three at this mile distance. Hector Berrios will be back aboard, which is positive as he has four wins from eight mounts aboard El Potente and seemingly has been able to get the best effort out of him. Despite his early speed, El Potente is also ranked second by late pace with a 110.0 and has been able to set the pace and finish strong. El Potente has a great opportunity to pick up his first Grade 1 win in this spot for trainer Dan Blacker.
Despite having only two wins in his last 14 starts, Almendares is a tough gelding who always gives a great effort. Almendares has not run in a race with a class rating under 100 since 2023 and has finished no worse than fifth (by just three-quarters of a length) in his last five graded stakes appearances. The British-bred gelding started his 6-year-old campaign with a third-place finish in the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes in January at Gulfstream, outrunning his 37.70-1 odds. He returned to his home state of California to run in the Frank Kilroe Mile and finished third behind El Potente after trailing the field by 10 lengths. Almendares came right back to win the American Stakes last time out, beating four fellow Shoemaker Mile contenders after rallying from fifth in early stretch. The gelding will be coming from off the pace and has the ability to hit the board this spot if not win outright. He came out of the American in top form as well, firing a bullet five-furlong drill in 59 seconds in his most recent breeze at Santa Anita on May 18. While he faces a tough task with Formidable Man and El Potente on his inside, Almendares has already proven to be a winner over most of this field and has positioned himself as a legitimate contender in this spot.
The rest of the field, with their best Equibase Speed Figures in similar races, is King of Gosford (110), Genius Jimmy (114), Mi Hermano Ramon (122), Seal Team (121), Call Me Cory (102) and Twirling Point (109).
Win Contenders in Preference Order:
Formidable Man
El Potente
Almendares
