Trained by Graham Motion, King of Egypt continued the good form of American Pharoah's
progeny on the grass by winning this five and a half furlong turf contest by a
length and a quarter.He showed natural pace to be up with the leaders and forged clear for a stylish win in a competitive race.
"It appeared to be a pretty salty group. He's a colt we've always liked a lot. We followed him over the winter. He's out of a good family," said Graham Motion.
"Dr. [Barry] Eisaman had him in Ocala, and he felt like he was one of the better ones he had down there. And that speaks volumes, because he has a lot of nice horses."
Saratoga was a possibility for King of Egypt to make his debut, but in the end Motion chose the softer option of Laurel.
"I've got to be honest, I've been a little confused with his workouts in the morning," Motion revealed.
"He's been pretty laid-back, and it's been a little bit hard to gauge him in the morning, so that's kind of why I chose to run him at Laurel. I thought it would be throwing him in the deep end if I brought him up to Saratoga, but I was glad to see him run to the way we had hoped he would over the winter."
A homebred for Alex Campbell, King of Egypt is a half-brother to Grade III winners Ultra Brat and It's Tea Time being the ninth winner from top producer Prof McGonagall.
American Pharoah is now back in Australia preparing for his third Southern Hemisphere breeding season with his first Aussie bred yearlings to be offered at the 2020 yearling sales.
He stands at a fee of $66,000.
