Khaadem Rallies From Last to Win Woodford Stakes
Old guys ruled in the Woodford Stakes (G2T) Oct. 4 at Keeneland as Khaadem , age 9, and Frankie Dettori, ever young at 54, swept from last to first in the stretch to win by a neck.
The race itself was replete with seniors, including another 9-year-old, Charcoal , 7-year-old Arrest Me Red , and a pair of 6-year-olds.
But it was Khaadem’s day and, as Dettori said, the admitted character “decided to run.”
Sometimes a problem at the gate, the starting crew had worked with Khaadem prior to the race and he loaded well but then had to wait while a rival who had broken through the barrier was reloaded. Once sprung, he dropped to the back in the 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint.
“He fluffed the start. That’s why he was so far back,” Dettori said. And trainer Charlie Hills said, “I was a bit worried” when Khaadem turned into the stretch still last of eight.
But he quickly picked things up outside rivals and swept by them in the final sixteenth.
“I got him in a good spot and he decided to run,” Dettori said. “He’s a character and we love him for it.”
Script was along for second, a neck back of the winner, who reported in 1:02.18 on firm turf. Joe Shiesty was third and Charcoal finished last.
Khaadem, a Dark Angel gelding owned by Mrs. Fitriani Hay, was making his 42nd start. Two of his previous 41 races were at Kentucky Downs, where he finished second in the 2024 Turf Sprint Stakes (G2T) and third in this year’s edition of that race.
He had been in Kentucky since this year’s Kentucky Downs effort and Hills said he had been kept away from most of the hustle and bustle of the racing scene, as befits a senior citizen.
“He seems to thrive being here,” Hills said.
Khaadem has been competitive in many of England’s top sprints but peaked with back-to-back wins in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (G1) at Royal Ascot in 2023 and 2024. The Woodford victory may have earned him a shot at another top-level score in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) Nov. 1 at Del Mar.
The Woodford is not a formal part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series but winners of the race have gone on to score in the Breeders’ Cup—most recently Golden Pal , who won both in 2021, when the Breeders’ Cup was also run at Del Mar.
“I think we have to go,” Hills said. “It just makes sense, really.”
Reflecting on old warrior’s career, Hills added, “Like I say, he’s 9 years old and he won his first race as a 2-year-old, so we go back a long way. He’s won some fantastic races back in England—two Jubilees at Royal Ascot—and he’s won some amazing prize money, so he’s given us all a lot of joy. Horses have such good characters and he’s certainly got one.”
Khaadem was bred in Ireland by Yeomanstown Stud. His sire, Dark Angel, was a top sprinter at age 2 in England but retired sound after that year. His dam, White Daffodil , is by Footstepsinthesand, who won the 2005 Two Thousand Guineas (G1) at Newmarket and retired undefeated after only three races.
