This has been a year of ups and downs and the unconventional for everyone and that includes the Korea Racing Authority's Knicks Go (Paynter), but he ended 2020 on a high note with a victory in the GI Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. Dominant in two starts this season, albeit eight months apart with a minor surgery in between, the $87,000 KEESEP buy was favored at 9-5 in this return to Grade I company. Seizing the early advantage, the gray was pressed along by GII Kelso H. winner Complexity (Maclean's Music) through a :21.98 opening quarter with the rest of the field several lengths off of them. Complexity turned up the heat a bit, just a neck off the pace-setting chalk through :44.40 half-mile. Knicks Go slammed the door on his pursuer in the stretch and rolled clear with ease for a decisive score in a new track record time of 1:33.85. The previous record was held by Liam's Map (Unbridled's Song), who stopped the clock in 1:34.54 when winning the 2015 Dirt Mile at Keeneland. Jesus' Team (Tapiture) completed the exacta at 62-1 and Sharp Samurai (First Samurai) was third.
“He's very fast and he loves Keeneland as well,” said winning trainer Brad Cox, who won the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile with Essential Quality (Tapit ) and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf with Aunt Pearl (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) Friday at Keeneland. “We picked the horse up last winter and he really loves it here. Joel [Rosario] did a fantastic job of asking him to be forwardly placed and he responded well. They went very quick and he was able to keep going. This is a good race for him with the short stretch. A lot of things were in his favor today. He's a very aggressive horse, he loves to train. He's just a very classy horse.”
“It looked like he was going easy,” said Rosario, who also had a win Friday aboard Vequist (Nyquist) in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. “I didn't know how fast he was going. He went :44. That was very fast. He was able to hang in there and have a kick at the eighth pole. It was a very good performance.”
The Korea Racing Authority purchased Knicks Go as a stallion prospect to bring back to Korea after his U.S. racing career concluded.
“After a long layoff, he endured a lot of things this year, but he recovered very well,” the KRA's Jun Park said. “We know he has a lot of talent and obviously loves Keeneland. That's what we're looking for in a stallion prospect. We also have a good selection system, which created by the team at the Korea Racing Authority and that's why we are buying colts in the United States. I believe this victory will make the Korea horse industry more forward, more globalized and improve the Korean homebred as well.”
Knicks Go was conditioned by Ben Colebrook during his juvenile and sophomore seasons, including a dominant victory in the GI Claiborne Breeders Futurity S. here at Keeneland in 2018 and was second to champion Game Winner (Candy Ride {Arg}) in that year's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs. Winless in eight starts in 2019 at age 3, he did finish third in both the GIII Sam F. Davis S. and Ellis Park Derby that term. Switched to the turf for his final start for Colebrook in the GIII Common Wealth Turf S. at Churchill last November, the gray was transferred to the Cox barn and dominated by 7 1/2 lengths in his debut for that outfit in an Oaklawn optional claimer Feb. 22. Sidelined with a knee chip following that effort, Knicks Go underwent surgery and returned to the track better than ever, demolishing a 1 1/16-mile Keeneland optional claimer by 10 1/4 lengths in front-running fashion Oct. 4, earning a 107 Beyer Speed Figured and giving Cox the confidence to send the colt to the World Championships.
Pedigree Notes:
Knicks Go became the first Grade I winner for Paynter in 2018 when capturing the Breeders Futurity and remains his lone top-level scorer while adding a Breeders' Cup winner to the WinStar stallion's resume. He is also one of four graded victors and 24 black-type scorers for Paynter. His dam Kosmo's Buddy RNA'd for $37,000 at the 2015 KEENOV Sale with Knicks Go in utero and she left the ring unsold yet again after his first Grade I win in 2018 at FTKNOV, RNA'ing for $195,000. The 15-year-old mare has an unraced juvenile filly by Broken Vow and produced a Justify filly Mar. 4 of this year and was bred back to Ghostzapper, who recently relocated from Adena to Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa Farm.
Saturday, Keeneland
BIG ASS FANS BREEDERS' CUP DIRT MILE-GI, $920,000, Keeneland, 11-7, 3yo/up, 1m, 1:33.85, ft.
1–KNICKS GO, 126, c, 4, by Paynter
1st Dam: Kosmo's Buddy (MSW, $298,095),
by Outflanker
2nd Dam: Vaulted, by Allen's Prospect
3rd Dam: Aube d'Or, by Medaille d'Or
($40,000 Wlg '16 KEENOV; $87,000 Ylg '17 KEESEP). O-Korea
Racing Authority; B-Angie Moore (MD); T-Brad H. Cox; J-Joel
Rosario. $520,000. Lifetime Record: 17-5-3-1, $1,348,995.
Werk Nick Rating: F.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Jesus' Team, 123, c, 3, Tapiture–Golden Memories, by Suave.
($30,000 Ylg '18 KEESEP). O-Grupo Seven C Stable; B-Pamela P.
Gartin (KY); T-Jose Francisco D'Angelo. $170,000.
3–Sharp Samurai, 126, g, 6, First Samurai–Secret Wish, by
Street Cry (Ire). ($85,000 Ylg '15 KEESEP). O-Red Baron's Barn
LLC, Rancho Temescal LLC & Mark Glatt; B-Cudney Stables
(KY); T-Mark Glatt. $90,000.
Margins: 3HF, NO, HF. Odds: 1.80, 62.60, 6.40.
Also Ran: Complexity, Owendale, Mr Freeze, Rushie, Art Collector, War of Will, Silver Dust, Mr. Money, Pirate's Punch. Scratched: Pingxiang. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
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