Euro Import Zulu Kingdom Takes Spa's With Anticipation
Image:
Description:
Photo: Coglianese Photos/Susie Raisher
Zulu Kingdom wins the With Anticipation Stakes at Saratoga Race Course
Riding Zulu Kingdom in the $175,000 With Anticipation Stakes (G3) on Aug. 29, Flavien Prat demonstrated how he's won a record-tying 15 stakes at Saratoga Race Course this summer.
Breaking from post 7, Prat guided the 2-year-old to the rail, saving ground through most of the 1 1/16 miles. Longshot Nudge set the pace through fractions of :24 1/5 and :48 3/5 with stablemate and 9-5 favorite Tenacious Leader a length behind.
Sitting comfortably in third and in no rush, Prat let Dylan Davis and Cavallo Bay join the two up front before accelerating at the eighth pole. Prat seemed to be waiting for running room to open up between horses, and when that didn't happen, he slipped into the narrow gap between the rail and Nudge to take the lead and win by a neck over Tenacious Leader. He paid $6.20 to win and was timed in 1:41 3/5 on a firm turf course.
"I stayed inside hoping that maybe I could split horses, and when Irad (Ortiz Jr.) made a run, then I was able to get to the rail, and he was very professional and brave enough to get through the hole. From there, he got the job done," said Prat. "Most of the time, horses from Europe, they break a tad slow and you quickly find yourself behind. So, I was hoping he could break with the field, which is what he did, and from there, obviously we go into the first turn and you ride behind the speed and you're on the inside—I thought it was a great (trip)."
Cavallo Bay was third, followed by Nudge, Test Score , and Without Caution .
Prat equaled the record for stakes wins in a single Saratoga meeting, joining John Velazquez, Ortiz, and Joel Rosario.
By the Irish-bred Ten Sovereigns and bred by Écurie Peregrine SAS, Zulu Kingdom won his first race in early June at Saint-Cloud, near Paris. He then was purchased by a partnership comprising Madaket Stable, Michael Dubb, William Strauss, and Michael Caruso.
"We work with bloodstock agent Hubert Guy," said Dubb. "Hubert said that the colt was professional and classy, and we liked what we saw, so we decided to take a chance."
Zulu Kingdom arrived in the United States shortly thereafter. According to Dubb, trainer Chad Brown said the horse was training great and that there was "no reason" not to take a shot in a graded stakes.
A multiple group 1 winner who retired in 2019 with earnings just shy of $950,000, Ten Sovereigns stands at Coolmore Ireland for €17,500. Zulu Kingdom is out of the unraced Smart Strike mare Zindziswa.
"Sometimes when you get these Euros it's not so straightforward," said Brown. "You can breeze them a couple times and they end up not being able to adjust right away and you stop. This particular horse, he never missed a day. He came over here and I've been so impressed with everything I put at him. He never missed a day of training since he came to me and I'm so proud of the way he put it together first time in the country."