Kingman wins the Gr.1 Irish 2000 Guineas © Pat Healy

Kingman (GB)

b c Invincible Spirit – Zenda (Zamindar)

Date of birth:28th February 2011
Trained by:

John Gosden

Kingman – whose dam Zenda is a half-sister to Group 1-winning sprinter and successful Juddmonte sire Oasis Dream – was unbeaten as a two-year-old. Debuting in a maiden on Newmarket’s July course, he showed off his brilliant turn of foot to win by six lengths, and then, despite greenness, he went on to win the Gr.3 Solario Stakes at Sandown.

The following season, Kingman easily defeated Night Of Thunder in the Gr.3 Greenham Stakes – but in the Gr.1 2000 Guineas the following month the result was reversed, in a strangely run race which saw the field split in two. Kingman gained his Guineas victory however in the Irish equivalent, winning on the Curragh by five lengths and becoming Juddmonte’s first Classic winner out of a Classic winner.

At Royal Ascot 2014, Kingman became Juddmonte’s second winner of the Gr.1 St James’s Palace Stakes after Frankel, defeating Night Of Thunder by two-and-a-quarter lengths. “That was awesome; that’s the best way to describe it,” said jockey James Doyle “It’s almost as if they can't go quick enough for him, even when you go you feel like you've gone too soon. He’s got so much pace, he’s almost climbing over the back of them wanting them to go quicker.”

Kingman’s devastating speed was once again to the fore in the Gr.1 Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood, as he swept past Toronado in easy fashion – and the following month, in the Gr.1 Prix Jacques le Marois, he notched up his fourth Group 1 win in similar fashion. A throat infection thereafter unfortunately curtailed Kingman’s racing career, but he ended 2014 as the winner of four Group 1s in three different countries and with the title of Cartier Horse of the Year.

Last updated 2:02pm 30/03/2021