Trainer Michael McCarthy has a plan for Formidable Man that he hopes will lead him to a victory in the Breeders' Cup Mile. His plan began with a win in the Grade 1 $300,000 Shoemaker Mile Stakes on May 25 at Santa Anita Park, and Formidable Man followed through in impressive fashion.

Formidable Man was making his first start of 2026 after running second to Notable Speech in last fall's FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile presented by PDJF. He faced seven rivals in the Shoemaker Mile, all with more recent form.

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With an impressive stack of stakes wins, Formidable Man went off as the 0.70-1 favorite under jockey Flavien Prat. Comfortable running mid-pack early in many of his previous races, Formidable Man used that strategy again in the Shoemaker Mile. He stalked in fourth behind :22.94 quarter-mile and :45.89 half-mile fractions.

Prat waited until the second turn and then let Formidable Man move forward, putting his mount in a perfect position for the stretch run. Formidable Man took advantage. He grabbed the lead past the eighth pole and defeated a line of pursuers led by Almendares, who came from last early to get second. Formidable Man won by 1 1/4 lengths in a time of 1:33.52. King of Gosford, like Almendares trained by Phil D'Amato, finished third.

"You always have a doubt going up against the caliber of horses running here today," McCarthy said. "Things set up nicely for him. He was able to sit a wonderful pocket trip. He's such a gritty horse. He knows where the finish line is."

Prat was riding Formidable Man for only the second time. He had not ridden him since winning aboard the horse's career debut as a 2-year-old in 2023 at Del Mar. Prat arrived to Santa Anita just in time for the mount after a 3 1/2-hour flight delay arriving from New York where he had ridden the day before.

"I know the horse," Prat said. "He's just a straightforward, very good horse."

Following last fall's Breeders' Cup, McCarthy sent Formidable Man out for a short break.

"He went to Bonnie Acres (Farm) for 90 days, came back, and fortunately he had no hiccups," McCarthy said. "If we had a hiccup along the way, we wouldn't have had a sixth work last weekend and wouldn't have made the race today."

McCarthy indicated that he would likely take Formidable Man to Del Mar for the summer, following a similar trajectory to the Breeders' Cup as he took last year. In 2025, Formidable Man won both the Grade 2 Eddie Read Stakes and the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile.

Forged Steel Romps in Hollywood Gold Cup Blowout

Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. won his second consecutive running of the Grade 2 $200,000 Hollywood Gold Cup as Forged Steel earned his first career stakes victory May 25 at Santa Anita Park.

Forged Steel. (Lindsay Affleck/Eclipse Sportswire)

Forged Steel, the 3.10-1 third choice in the five-horse field, dominated throughout. He shot out of the gate from the rail and went right to the front In the 1 1/4-mile Gold Cup. Malarchuk, the 9-5 favorite, sat right off Forged Steel's hip a half-length back, with the rest of the field staying well within reach.

Forged Steel got away with easy fractions of :23.22 for the first quarter-mile and :46.73 after a half-mile and pulled away from Malarchuk approaching the quarter pole. He crossed the wire 9 1/2 lengths in front of Malarchuk in second, a nose ahead of Mc Vay in third. Forged Steel stopped the timer in 2:01.58.

Joseph had also shipped across country to win the 2025 Hollywood Gold Cup with the venerable Skippylongstocking, who is currently approaching career earnings of $6 million.

Forged Steel's winning margin was the biggest in the Gold Cup since the race was moved from Hollywood Park to Santa Anita in 2014. Lava Man came close in 2005, the first of his three consecutive Gold Cups, when he won by 8 3/4 lengths at Hollywood Park.

"The horse ran a good race, it was my first time aboard him," said jockey Flavien Prat. "He had a good run in his past races, and he showed another good run here today." -- Tracy Gantz

Favored Thought Process Captures Grade 1 Gamely Stakes

Thought Process. (Lindsay Affleck/Eclipse Sportswire)

Heavy favorite and multiple graded stakes winner Thought Process turned a stalking trip into a decisive victory in the Grade 1 $300,000 Gamely Stakes May 25 at Santa Anita Park.

Thought Process completed the 1 1/8 miles on the turf under jockey Hector Berrios in a final time of 1:47.51 and scored a 2 3/4-length win over runner-up Rashmi. Take a Breath was another 1 1/4 lengths back in third. Thought Process paid $4.80 to win as the 7-5 favorite in the eight-horse field.

The winner is a 4-year-old daughter of Collected that has now won seven of her 10 career starts. She came into the Gamely off a two-length win in the Grade 2 Buena Vista Stakes in her most recent start for trainer Phil D'Amato. The Gamely marked her first Grade 1 win. – Eric Mitchell