Jim Mulvihill, Bloodhorse
After nearly six full years of racing and 38 starts, King Cause may have found the best form of his life. The 8-year-old Creative Cause gelding shipped into Lone Star Park to win the $300,000 Texas Turf Classic June 24 by 1 1/4 lengths over Kokokomo and Southern California invader Dean Martini .
Under local rider Rene Diaz, King Cause settled toward the rear of the seven-horse field, rallied four-wide on the turn, and was in command by upper stretch.
Owned by Nice Guys Stables, King Cause changed barns several times before landing with trainer Mike Maker in the fall of 2021. By the following April, he had won his first stakes, at age 7, in the $250,000 Kentucky Cup Classic at Kentucky Downs. He added a graded stakes win in the Knickerbocker Stakes (G3T) in October at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Maker ran 1-2 in last year’s Texas Turf Classic with Field Pass and Megacity .
It was the biggest win of the 23-year-old jockey Diaz’s nascent career. He plans to ride at Del Mar later this summer, according to a report from Daily Racing Form’s Mary Rampellini.
Kokokomo, locally based with trainer Danny Pish, was five lengths clear of Dean Martini by Cairo Prince, the 2020 Ohio Derby (G3) winner who this spring competed in allowance optional claiming events on the west coast.
King Cause paid $6 on track as the 2-1 favorite, completing the 1 1/8 miles in 1:47.73 on a firm course.
