America’s Best Racing’s Mike Curry offers five key takeaways from an important weekend of summer racing headlined by the $1 million Pacific Classic Stakes at Del Mar and the $600,000 Alabama Stakes Presented by Keeneland Sales at Saratoga Race Course.

Pacific Classic winner Knightsbridge (Eclipse Sportswire)

DEL MAR DOMINANCE: Knightsbridge looked every bit the 11-10 favorite as he powered clear of 10 opponents for a 6 ¼-length runaway victory in the Pacific Classic Stakes, dominating his first try stretching out to 1 ¼ miles for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. The 5-year-old by Nyquist dueled with 2024 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Full Serrano for the lead through a sprightly half-mile in :45.94 before taking command in the stretch under Junior Alvarado. “It was quite impressive. I thought maybe they were going a little too fast down the backside,” Mott said. “They went quick but gosh he had something to finish with.” Knightsbridge had never competed in a race longer than a mile until a 10 ¼-length runaway in the 1 1/8-mile Monmouth Cup Stakes July 18. The Godolphin homebred earned an expenses-paid berth in the $7 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic with the Pacific Classic victory.

Mott holds a strong Breeders' Cup hand (Eclipse Sportswire)

POCKET ACES: Looking ahead to the Breeders’ Cup World Championships Oct. 30-31 at Keeneland, Mott has a pair of aces in Pacific Classic winner Knightsbridge and reigning Horse of the Year Sovereignty, who delivered his best performance of the year Aug. 8 with a 4 ¾-length romp over a strong field in the $1 million Whitney Stakes. Might Mott split them up and target the Dirt Mile with Knightsbridge if both horses are healthy entering the Breeders’ Cup? Knightsbridge’s final quarter-mile in :26.62 in the Pacific Classic most likely would not be strong enough to get the job done in the 1 ¼-mile Classic at Keeneland and his Beyer Speed Figure dipped from a 122 in the 1 1/8-mile Monmouth Cup to a 104 for Saturday’s win at 1 ¼ miles. Stablemate Sovereignty, on the other hand, is a tried-and-true classic-distance racehorse who earned a 112 Beyer Speed Figure for the Whitney win. Whatever Mott decides, he’s got one heck of a starting hand.

Counting Stars, above, was defeated in Alabama (Eclipse Sportswire)

SPA STUNNER: They don’t call Saratoga Race Course “the Graveyard of Champions” for nothing. The Spa delivered another stunner Saturday as Counting Stars finished third as the overwhelming 0.38-1 favorite in the Grade 1 Alabama Stakes. Counting Stars had won three of her last four starts with the lone defeat a third-place finish in the Longines Kentucky Oaks, and she was the lone stakes winner in the six-horse Alabama field. Counting Stars entered the race off back-to-back Grade 1 wins at Saratoga in the DraftKings Acorn Stakes in June and the Coaching Club American Oaks in July for Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse but simply ran out of fuel in deep stretch in her first try at 1 ¼ miles. Winner My Gun’s Loaded under Manny Franco and runner-up Measure rallied past the leader of the 3-year-old filly division as yet another favorite was foiled at Saratoga, but Casse was far from disappointed with his star filly. “I’m proud of her. When they run hard, I don’t get disappointed,” Casse said. “Would I like to have won? Of course, but no, it takes a lot to get me disappointed, so I’m proud of her, she ran hard. We were third best today.”

Alabama winner My Gun's Loaded (Eclipse Sportswire)

NEW SHOOTER: The Alabama was a sparkling stakes debut for lightly-raced My Gun’s Loaded, who won a seven-furlong maiden race in June at Saratoga and a one-mile allowance-optional claiming race at the New York track in July for owner Douglas Scharbauer. Winning trainer Chad Brown followed a similar pattern in 2023 with Randomized, who used a one-mile stakes win as a steppingstone to success in the Alabama. “Going from a mile to a mile and a quarter is a big ask,” Brown said. “Counting Stars is a great horse. I had the benefit of a fresh horse today. I mean take nothing away from the way [Counting Stars] fought, she’s danced every dance from the Oaks on through, and I needed a fresh horse to beat her.”

TURF THRILLER: The turf racing at Del Mar has been exceptional this summer and Saturday’s $303,000 Del Mar Mile Stakes was yet another dandy as a half-length separated the top- four finishers. King of Gosford passed race favorite El Potente in the stretch and held off the late rally of Detain by a head to earn his second stakes win of the year and his third lifetime victory in a graded stakes race. The Phil D’Amato-trained 5-year-old by Zoustar won the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile in 2025 and finished third in that race in May. The Del Mar Mile win pushed his lifetime earnings to seven figures with $1,002,192. “He has a big heart and he always tries,” winning jockey Umberto Rispoli said. “He can give you something more every single time.”