Graham Motion busted out my pick four in the second leg when Ballast (announced as a gelding) wired the eighth race at 6-1. For good measure, the Motion-trained Sweet Science, our key single in race 9, finished a thoroughly beaten tenth as the 3-2 favorite in the Waya Stakes. So now, it's Motion AND Julien Leparoux that I can't seem to get a handle on. We are due to hit something. RACE 1 Knox won big second time off the claim by Gary Contessa on the next-to-last day of 2005, but something went wrong and his form took a nosedive soon afterward. Even though he has finished out of the money in all six of his starts this year, I think he has a chance to come rolling through the stretch and nail the leaders in Saturday's opener. Knox received a freshening in early spring, and was overmatched in stakes on turf and dirt after returning in the Midwest for owner Maggi Moss' far-flung stable. First time back in New York with Contessa, Knox got a horrible setup in a paceless route on yielding turf, and finished evenly. I think a long sprint with a fast pace up front will hit Knox right between the eyes, and he is going to get that kind of a scenario if Harmony Hall and Rockhewn hook up the way they did on a speed-favoring sloppy track on the Jim Dandy undercard. The bet: $50 to win on Knox. Total wagers previous day: $72Total return previous day: $0Total win/loss previous day: minus $72 Total wagers for meet: $672Total return for meet: $111Total win/loss for meet: minus $561