Decorated Knight confirmed for Breeders’ Cup Turf
30 October 2017
Decorated Knight will take his chance in the Breeders’ Cup Turf rather than the Mile, it was confirmed on Monday. Andrea Atzeni will take the ride and he will break from stall four. He will race without the raceday medication Lasix.
The Turf, as a 12 furlong race, represents new territory for Decorated Knight, who has yet to race beyond 10 and a half furlongs in his 18-race career. But connections are confident that the son of Galileo will find the trip within his compass.
“He relaxes so well for Andrea Atzeni now, as we saw when he won the Irish Champion Stakes,” said Tony Nerses, advisor to Saleh Al Homaizi and Imad Al Sagar. “He’s a well balanced, athletic horse who enjoys top of the ground, and he has an excellent turn of foot, so we go to Del Mar hopeful that track conditions will suit him.
“He’s won three Group 1 races for us this year and competed in three different countries. And he remains in great heart. He has a very good attitude, enjoys travelling and is a tough horse, similar in constitution to his close relation Giant’s Causeway.”
Decorated Knight began his year in February at Lingfield with a victory over Arab Spring in the Listed Winter Derby Trial. From there, he travelled to Meydan, where he showed a sparkling turn of foot to get out of trouble and win the Group 1 Jebel Hatta. Two starts later, he captured the Group 1 Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh before running a mighty second to Highland Reel in the Group 1 Prince Of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Little went his way in the Group 1 Eclipse Stakes next time out while ground conditions at York didn’t play to his strengths in the Group 1 Juddmonte International.
However, he was brilliant in last month’s Group 1 Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown, swooping from the back of the field to deny Poet’s Word with Churchill, Eminent and Cliffs Of Moher among those in behind.
Decorated Knight is the first foal out of Pearling, a Storm Cat sister to champion Giant’s Causeway, subsequently a multiple champion sire for Coolmore in America, and the Group 2-placed Freud, himself a leading sire in New York.
Another sibling, Cherry Hinton Stakes winner You’resothrilling, is the dam of top miler and Coolmore sire Gleneagles, Irish 1,000 Guineas heroine Marvellous and this season’s top two-year-old filly Happily.
Pearling is also a sister to stakes-producing sires Tumblebrutus and Roar Of The Tiger. She is out of Grade 2 winner Mariah’s Storm.
Decorated Knight has won eight races and approximately £1.32 million in prize-money.