Just moments after announcing that their star classic-division colt, Sovereignty, would return for the 2026 season, Godolphin showed how deep with older horses their barn will be in 2026 as Knightsbridge finally earned his first stakes victory in the $150,000 Mr. Prospector Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park Dec. 27.
READ: Sovereignty Set to Rejoin Mott's Stable, Race in 2026
In a performance that made him look like a threat in the one-turn mile division moving forward, the son of Nyquist shot forward from his inside post, took heat from Wound Up and Super Chow through fractions of :22.80 and :45.83, and opened up in the lane for a 4 3/4-length win.
Stopping the clock in 1:22.32 for 7 furlongs, Knightsbridge paid $2.40 to win. Super Chow stayed on for second and Wound Up held third.
"He had a good break, a good trip. He was on the lead. It was reasonable fractions, and that helped him out," Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott told FanDuel TV's Caton Bredar. "He finished very well. Hopefully there's more things to come for him."
Knightsbridge has had high expectations on his career since winning his first two starts by a combined 19 1/2 lengths. However, the homebred for Godolphin was making just his sixth lifetime start in the closing days of his 4-year-old season. He ran well in his only previous stakes start, finishing in a dead heat for third in the 2024 Perryville Stakes (G3) off a seven-month layoff, beaten 1 length by Brunacini with Book'em Danno second. He entered Saturday's stakes run off a Nov. 22 allowance optional claiming victory at Aqueduct Racetrack, which had been his first start in nine months.
Now that the colt is back in the groove, Mott mentioned he plans to point to graded one-turn mile races at Gulfstream in the immediate future. Those options include the $175,000 Fred W. Hooper Stakes (G3) Jan. 24 and the $200,000 Gulfstream Park Mile Stakes (G3) Feb. 28.
"He's shown that he likes the track, there are a couple graded stakes we'd like to run in," Mott said. "His half brother, Speaker's Corner, did very well in those stakes here. If he stays healthy and he's good, we'll bring him back here."
Also out of the unraced Bernardini mare Tyburn Brook, Speaker's Corner (Street Sense ) won both the Fred Hooper and Gulfstream Park Mile in 2022. Knightsbridge is the 12th graded winner this season for Nyquist, who stands for $175,000 at Darley near Lexington in 2026.
Video: Mr. Prospector S. (G3)
Moon Spun Continues Lynch's Hot Streak
The Brian Lynch barn stayed hot one race earlier as Moon Spun set the Gulfstream turf ablaze and aced her stakes debut in the $100,000 Abundantia Stakes.
Despite being part of a contentious and fast pace of :21.54 and :43.73, Town and Country Racing's 4-year-old Hard Spun filly had enough in the tank to repel two-time graded stakes winner and the all-time leading Arkansas-bred earner Haulin Ice by a neck. Completing 5 furlongs in :55.33, favored Moon Spun paid $5.80. Love Appeals was third.
The victory was a 10th in the opening month of Gulfstream's championship meet for Lynch with just 22 starts. He ranks third in the standings behind Saffie Joseph Jr. (13 wins) and Jose D'Angelo (12), who have both sent at least 60 runners to the post.
