Going…going… gone. Leading older horse Knicks Go (Paynter), as expected, punched his ticket to the GI Breeders' Cup Classic with a facile victory in Saturday's GIII Lukas Classic S. at Churchill Downs.
The overwhelming 1-9 favorite took his usual spot on the front end and led the field of six through very manageable fractions of :23.53 and :47.27. Joel Rosario hit the gas entering the far turn, and Knicks Go responded in spades. He passed the quarter pole as the one to catch, cornered for home in the four path and cruised down the lane to a comfortable score under very confident handling. It was four lengths back to Independence Hall (Constitution) in second.
“We're excited to get this race under our belt,” winning trainer Brad Cox said. “He's a fast horse and he's dangerous when he gets to show that speed around two turns. Joel gave him an easy trip on the front end. He seemed like he was able to take a breather and open back up around the turn. On to the Breeders' Cup.”
Rosario added, “I kept him off the rail today a little bit but he was going very easy. He's a really fast horse and he did what he needed to do. He's always been an impressive horse to ride and always been quick. Today, he did things very easily and now on to bigger things.”
Fourth as the 4-5 favorite in the GI Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan H. around a one-turn mile at Belmont June 5, the gray returned to his best form around two turns when airing in the GIII Cornhusker H. at Prairie Meadows in July with a gaudy 113 Beyer Speed Figure and was coming off another dominant tally in Saratoga's GI Whitney S. Aug. 7.
Knicks Go's loaded resume also includes top-level wins in the 2018 GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity, 2020 GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and this year's GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S.
Pedigree Notes:
Knicks Go stands alone as the only Grade I winner to date for Paynter, who has four graded winners among his 19 black-type winners. The breeding of Knicks Go has been well-documented, with his dam's last two matings being significantly upgraded: Kosmo's Buddy has a yearling filly by Justify and a filly by Ghostzapper of this year. Ghostzapper, like Paynter, is a son of Awesome Again.
Knicks Go, the fifth Maryland-bred generation of his family, is one of 10 stakes winners out of daughters of the Danzig sire Outflanker.
The Moore family's GreenMount Farm claimed the two-time stakes winner Kosmo's Buddy for $40,000 in her penultimate career start at Monmouth in 2010. She RNA'd for $195,000 at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Mixed Sale.
Saturday, Churchill Downs
LUKAS CLASSIC S.-GIII, $337,000, Churchill Downs, 10-2, 3yo/up, 1 1/8m, 1:47.85, ft.
1–KNICKS GO, 125, h, 5, 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. $184,140. Lifetime Record: MGISW, 23-9-3-1, $5,553,135.
Werk Nick Rating: F. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Independence Hall, 121, c, 4, Constitution–Kalahari Cat, by
Cape Town. ($100,000 Ylg '18 KEESEP; $200,000 RNA 2yo '19
FTFMAR). O-Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Twin Creeks
Racing Stables, LLC, WinStar Farm, LLC, Kathleen & Robert
Verratti; B-Woodford Thoroughbreds, LLC (KY); T-Michael W.
McCarthy. $79,400.
3–Shared Sense, 121, r, 4, Street Sense–Collective, by
Bernardini. O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. $39,700.
Margins: 4, 1HF, HD. Odds: 0.10, 10.00, 27.70.
Also Ran: Tacitus, Chess Chief, Sprawl.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
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