By Alan Carasso
Making his first start since running home to be a gallant second to Notable Speech (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the GI Breeders' Cup Mile down the road at Del Mar last November, Mr. & Mrs. William K. Warren's Formidable Man (City of Light) was given a letter-perfect steer by the visiting Flavien Prat and ran out a comfortable winner of Monday's GI Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita.
A fast-finishing fourth as the 13-5 favorite last Memorial Day, the $375,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase raced prominently through the early exchanges as Genius Jimmy (Jimmy Creed) made the running in advance of the well-backed Call Me Cory (Uncle Mo), who rolled forward from his outside draw to apply pace pressure and nosed in front midway down the back.
Saving ground from about fourth position as Mi Hermano Ramon (Creative Cause), runner-up here last year, began to make his move in the two path nearing the stretch, Formidable Man followed that run and peeled out with about three-sixteenths of a mile to race.
Roused to the front at the furlong grounds, the 7-10 chalk pinched a winning break and flexed his muscles to the wire. Last-out GIII American Stakes winner Almendares (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) won a photo for second over defending champion King of Gosford (GB) (Zoustar {Aus}).
“He's just such a genuine racehorse,” said winning trainer Michael McCarthy. “I said earlier if he was ever going to be vulnerable it was going to be today with the layoff, but he's just been touting himself here for the last couple of days.”
Having made the GI Hollywood Derby the last of his four victories at three in 2024, Formidable Man took out the GI Frank E. Kilroe Mile here last March ahead of his Shoemaker effort. Theretofore perfect in four tries at the seaside oval, Formidable Man ran his unbeaten streak there to six with tallies in the GII Eddie Read Stakes and GII Del Mar Mile last summer and he lost no admirers when rattling home to complete the exacta behind future Eclipse Award winner Notable Speech.
Pedigree Notes:
Formidable Man is one of two elite-level scorers for Lane's End's City of Light, who was trained by McCarthy for the Warrens to four Grade I successes of his own, including the 2018 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile followed by a 5 3/4-length romp in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes in early 2019.
A three-time winner from nine starts for the late Mike Mitchell, Fanticola was turned over to Phil D'Amato and was just run down in the 2015 GI Gamely Stakes ahead of a career-best performance in the GII Royal Heroine Stakes.
The mare was acquired by Louisiana's Clear Creek Stud for $60,000 in foal to Flatter at Keeneland November in 2021, and that in-utero purchase became Cc Cola, runner-up in the 2025 Cajun Miss Stakes at Evangeline Downs.
Fanticola is also responsible for the juvenile filly C C R N Jack (Jack Christopher), a yearling filly by Star Guitar and was most recently covered by City of Light.
FORMIDABLE MAN ($3.40) fires up the center of the track under Flavien Prat to win the $300,000 Shoemaker Mile (G1) at @SantaAnitaPark for trainer @mwmracing. Mr. & Mrs. W.K. Warren, Jr. own the 5YO son of @LanesEndFarms' City Of Light. pic.twitter.com/qAK4hMK7Ql
— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) May 25, 2026
Monday, Santa Anita
SHOEMAKER MILE S.-GI, $301,500, Santa Anita, 5-25, 3yo/up, 1mT, 1:33.52, fm.
1–FORMIDABLE MAN, 124, h, 5, by City of Light
1st Dam: Fanticola (GSW & GISP, $561,986), by Silent Name (Jpn)
2nd Dam: Catalina Cat, by Tabasco Cat
3rd Dam: Irish Dear, by Irish River (Fr)
($375,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-Warren, Jr., William K. and
Warren, Suzanne; B-Town & Country Horse Farms, LLC (KY);
T-Michael W. McCarthy; J-Flavien Prat. $180,000. Lifetime
Record: 17-9-3-0, $1,685,425.
Werk Nick Rating: D. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross
pedigree or free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Almendares (GB), 122, g, 6, Havana Grey (GB)–Glace (Ire), by
Verglas (Ire). (16,000gns Wlg '20 TATFOA; 14,000gns Ylg '21
TATOCT). O-CYBT, McLean Racing Stables, Gevertz, Saul,
Nentwig, Michael and Pagano, Ray; B-D. R. TUCKER (GB);
T-Philip D'Amato. $60,000.
3–King of Gosford (GB), 124, h, 5, Zoustar (Aus)–Miss Sugars
(GB), by Harbour Watch (Ire). (32,000gns Ylg '22 TATOCT).
O-Benowitz Family Trust, CYBT, Gevertz, Saul, Nentwig,
Michael and Peskoff, Jeremy; B-The Miss Sugars Partnership
(GB); T-Philip D'Amato. $36,000.
Margins: 1 1/4, NK, NK. Odds: 0.70, 7.50, 11.10.
Also Ran: Seal Team (GB), Genius Jimmy, Mi Hermano Ramon, Twirling Point, Call Me Cory. Scratched: El Potente.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
