Unleashing a belated but powerful acceleration, Kingman blew past the battling pair of Toronado and pacesetter Darwin in the closing stages and won the QIPCO Sussex Stakes (Eng-I) July 30 at Goodwood.
The race was hyped as a showdown between recent Royal Ascot winners Kingman and older rival Toronado, who won last year's edition of the race, but an extended match never materialized. Kingman tracked at the back of the compact field of four before dispatching his three opponents with a brilliant turn of foot once he got going late for James Doyle.
A 3-year-old son of Invincible Spirit, Kingman won by one length as the 2-5 favorite while stamping himself as Europe's top miler.
Toronado, winner of the Queen Anne Stakes (Eng-I) last time out, pressed Darwin's moderate pace and looked to get his nose ahead of the front-runner when the sprinting began in early stretch, but the tenacious Darwin refused to yield and the pair dueled stride for stride. Shaken up by Doyle, Kingman willingly responded when finding flat ground in the final furlong. Showing a brilliant burst of speed, he rushed past the leading pair in the last 110 yards to get the win.
Toronado held for second and Darwin was a head back in third. Outstrip was 1 3/4 lengths behind in fourth to complete the order of finish.
Kingman completed one mile in 1:41.75 on good to firm turf and notched his third straight group I victory and fourth win from five starts this season for owner/breeder Juddmonte Farms and trainer John Gosden. He has a 6-1-0 record from seven career starts.
"We're incredibly lucky to have such a horse of this caliber," Teddy Grimthrope, racing manager for Juddmonte owner Khalid Abdullah, said about Kingman. "He excites people as well.
"When you see that turn of foot it gets the blood rushing. We all want to see more of it."
In his start prior to the Sussex, Kingman impressively turned the tables on his QIPCO Two Thousand Guineas (Eng-I) conqueror Night of Thunder in the June 17 St. James's Palace Stakes (Eng-I) going a mile at the royal meeting. The victory followed his win in the Tattersalls Irish Two Thousand Guineas (Ire-I). He began the season with a win over Night of Thunder in the Aon Greenham Stakes (Eng-III).
Kingman, bred in Great Britain, is out of the Zamindar mare Zenda, winner of the 2002 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches (Fr-I, French One Thousand Guineas) for Juddmonte. A half sister to European champion sprinter and prominent Juddmonte sire Oasis Dream, Zenda also is the dam of group III winner Remote. Second dam Hope is a full sister to 1993 Irish Oaks (Ire-I) winner Wemyss Bight, the dam of U.S. and French group I winner Beat Hollow.
