King of Gosford (GB)

King of Gosford began his racing career in Ireland, losing four times before winning a handicap on Dundalk Racecourse’s all-weather track. The English-bred Zoustar colt made one more start at Dundalk and then was shipped to the U.S., where he promptly won a six-furlong allowance optional claiming race on turf at Santa Anita Park for new trainer Phil D’Amato.

The chestnut colt followed that auspicious debut up with a victory in his first two stakes appearances, taking the John Shear Stakes by a length and then the Desert Code Stakes by a neck, both held at 6 ½ furlongs on the grass at Santa Anita. He remained in stakes company after that and continued to run well, winning the Let It Ride Stakes going a mile on turf at Del Mar in October and finishing second twice and third once in four other appearances. At the end of Del Mar’s meet, he nearly captured the Grade 1, 1 1/8-mile Hollywood Derby, finishing second by three quarters of a length to Formidable Man.

D'Amato brought King of Gosford back for one final graded stakes try to close out his 3-year-old season, and the colt broke through with a gate-to-wire, one-length score in the Mathis Mile Stakes held on Santa Anita’s Dec. 26 opening-day card. He was reunited with jockey Flavien Prat in the Mathis Mile after Prat had ridden him to wins in his U.S. debut and in the Let It Ride Stakes. The pair’s victory in the Mathis Mile gave Prat a North American record 56 graded stakes wins for the season.

King of Gosford made his 2025 debut on April 20 with a runner-up finish in the Grade 3 American Stakes going one mile on the grass at Santa Anita. The loss was only his second defeat in six career starts on the Santa Anita turf course.

King of Gosford wasted no time making amends, however, when he scored his fifth career win at Santa Anita and first lifetime Grade 1 win in the $300,000 Shoemaker Mile on May 26. Sent off as the 4.40-1 third choice in the Shoemaker Mile, King of Gosford stalked the pace mid-pack much of the race and he looked beaten in mid-stretch as the lead pair of Cabo Spirit and Mi Hermano Ramon battled it out on the lead nearing the wire. King of Gosford got rolling in deep stretch, came with a furious rally on the outside, and just barely got to the wire first under jockey Flavien Prat to win by a neck in a tight three-horse finish.

King of Gosford is out of the stakes-placed, winning Harbour Watch mare Miss Sugars and is from the family of multiple Grade 1 winner and $2 million earner Wigmore Hall.