2018 Eclipse Awards: Knicks Go

After pulling off one surprise in a Grade 1 race and nearly pulling off another, it was no surprise that Knicks Go is a finalist for the Eclipse Award for champion 2-year-old male.

Knicks Go, a son of Paynter owned by the Korean Racing Authority, gave trainer Ben Colebrook and jockey Albin Jimenez their first Grade 1 victory when he scored by 5 1/2 lengths as the 70-1 rank outsider in a 13-horse field in the Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland in October.

Four weeks later, Knicks Go had the lead turning for home at 40-1 in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs but yielded grudgingly in the final furlong to Game Winner, the race favorite and likely winner of this category.

Knicks Go ended his season with an 11th-place finish in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club, where, ironically, he was sent off the 3-1 favorite.

Knicks Go is not named after the National Basketball Association team in New York. Instead, it is the name of a genetic “nicking” program used by the Korean Racing Authority to select its horses.

The KRA has emphasized acquiring North American racing stock. In recent years, it has imported stallions such as Menifee, Hansen, and Take Charge Indy.

The KRA has been active at auctions as well. In 2016, it purchased Mr. Crow for $150,000 at the OBS sale of 2-year-olds in training. Mr. Crow finished second in last September’s Grade 1 Vosburgh at Belmont Park.

Knicks Go, a Maryland-bred, was purchased for $87,000 as a yearling at the 2017 Keeneland September sale. He won his career debut on July 4 at Ellis Park before finishing fifth 17 days later in the Grade 3 Sanford at Saratoga.

“I really thought he was a nice horse before his maiden win and after his maiden win,” said Colebrook. “I took him to Saratoga, and it was a big jump, and it didn’t work out.”

After finishing third in the Arlington-Washington Futurity over a synthetic surface, Knicks Go sprung his Breeders’ Futurity upset going gate to wire.

“Did I think he was going to win a Grade 1? I thought he was a useful 2-year-old,” Colebrook said. “I didn’t think he was a $100 horse.”

Colebrook said he was gratified to see Knicks Go run so well in the Juvenile, proving that his victory in the Breeders’ Futurity was not a fluke.

“He proved he was the second-best 2-year-old that ran at that time, on the championship day,” Colebrook said.

Knicks Go is in training at Tampa Bay Downs and is likely to make his 3-year-old debut in the Grade 3, $250,000 Sam. F. Davis there on Feb. 9. Another goal for his 3-year-old season is the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland on April 6.

:: 2018 Eclipse Finalists: Profiles and photos for all categories