Zulu Kingdom (IRE)

Zulu Kingdom, an Irish-bred Ten Sovereigns colt, won his debut June 4, 2024, taking a seven-furlong turf maiden race at Saint-Cloud racecourse in France by a dominant 3 ½ lengths.

The colt was then purchased privately by a U.S.-based partnership and transferred to trainer Chad Brown, who entered him in the Grade 3 With Anticipation Stakes Aug. 29 at Saratoga.

With jockey Flavien Prat in the irons, Zulu Kingdom saved ground for most of the 1 1/16-mile race on Saratoga’s inner turf course and rallied late to win by a neck.

In his next start, Zulu Kingdom competed for a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf against seven fellow 2-year-olds when contesting the Grade 2 Pilgrim Stakes Sept. 28 at Belmont at the Big A. Jockey Joel Rosario picked up the assignment and kept Zulu Kingdom in a stalking position through the backstretch and far turn of the 1 1/16-mile race, and the colt assumed command in mid-stretch and then held off a rallying Noble Confessor to prevail by a neck over a turf course rated as yielding.

Zulu Kingdom returned for the start of his 3-year-old season with a victory in the $100,000 Columbia Stakes going one mile on the turf at Tampa Bay Downs on March 8, 2025. He used that race as a springboard for a start in his next race in the Grade 1 $1 million American Turf Stakes presented by Ford going 1 1/16 miles on the turf where Zulu Kingdom got his first career Grade 1 victory. Sent off as the 2.17-1 favorite atop a 14-horse field in the American Turf, Zulu Kingdom stalked the pace up close, swung outside the leader in mid-stretch, and powered ahead to win by 1 1/4 lengths on a turf course rated "good" on a rainy Kentucky Derby undercard at Churchill Downs on May 3.

Zulu Kingdom's 2025 winning streak continued in his next outing when he took the Grade 3 $200,000 Manila Stakes going one mile on the turf at Saratoga on July 4. Sent off as the prohibitive 2-5 favorite in a field of eight 3-year-olds in the Manila, Zulu Kingdom pressed the pace throughout and took over in the stretch and prevailed in a three-quarters of a length victory under jockey Flavien Prat. In his next start, however, while Zulu Kingdom finished first in the Aug. 1 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes at Saratoga, he was disqualified and placed fourth after stewards ruled he interfered with two horses during the first turn of the one-mile turf race.

The Hall of Fame Stakes was Zulu Kingdom’s final start in 2025, and he did not make his 4-year-old debut until April 10 in a competitive edition of the Grade 1 Maker’s Mark Mile Stakes at Keeneland, headlined by 2025 FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile Stakes Presented by PDJF winner Notable Speech. Sent off as the third betting choice at 5.04-1 odds, Zulu Kingdom and regular rider Flavien Prat went straight to the lead, setting comfortable fractions through the backstretch, the far turn, and into the stretch run. The ridgling found another gear when asked by Prat and held off closing One Stripe to prevail by three-quarters of a length – his fifth consecutive race where he crossed the finish line first.

Zulu Kingdom is out of the unraced Smart Strike mare Zindziswa.