Itsaknockout points to Donn after easy win

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Itsaknockout, idle since finishing ninth in the 2015 Kentucky Derby, made a triumphant return here Thursday, drawing off to an easy 4 3/4-length victory over the Grade 1-placed Elnaawi under high-priced optional-claiming conditions going 1 1/16 miles. Itsaknockout, who won the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth here last year following the disqualification of Upstart, was confidently guided to victory by regular rider Luis Saez. Itsaknockout received a career-best 96 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort.

“I was very happy,” trainer Todd Pletcher said by phone Friday from Ocala, Fla. “I thought he ran super. It was good to see him come back that strongly. I was hopeful and optimistic he’d run well, the way he had trained, and that performance actually exceeded expectations.”

Itsaknockout now will be pointed for the Grade 1 Donn Handicap on Feb. 6.

“We needed a real solid race like that to get him to the Donn, and timing-wise, it’s very good,” said Pletcher. “It works out perfectly to train him up to the Donn.”

Itsaknockout is one of four potential starters for Pletcher in the Donn, along with Madefromlucky, Tommy Macho, and Mshawish, who’ll make his 2016 debut in the Grade 3 Hal’s Hope on Jan. 9.

◗ The one-mile Hal’s Hope is one of three graded stakes on tap here next Saturday, along with the Grade 2 Fort Lauderdale and the Grade 3 Marshua’s River. The Hal’s Hope lured just 17 nominations, including five from Pletcher. Other major names on the list include Matrooh, the third-place finisher in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile; Valid, the winner of the Harlan’s Holiday here in his 2015 finale; and Mr. Jordan.

◗ There will be 11 races on Sunday’s program, with the first event serving as the afternoon’s feature, an optional-claiming test carded at 7 1/2 furlongs on the turf, weather permitting. A field of nine plus three main-track-only entrants was drawn, with Indian Brut and Gustnado, both coming off a pair of second-place finishes against similarly conditioned opposition, likely to vie for favoritism. Other key contenders are Artie Crasher, Call Me Crazy, Starship Zorro, and On Tenterhooks.