Knickerbocker latest wet-weather casualty; Pioneering Spirit wins match race

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Mother Nature continued to wreak havoc on the New York Racing Association turf program with rain arriving earlier than originally forecast Friday forcing all five scheduled turf races at Aqueduct to the main track.

That included the Knickerbocker Stakes - which, after being withheld from the Oct. 15 program due to rain - became the seventh turf stakes of the Belmont At the Big A meet to be moved to the dirt. Overall, there have been 31 scheduled turf races moved to the main track in 20 days of racing at this meet. There have also been two canceled cards.

In addition to the foreseeable scratches of horses meant to run on turf in the Knickerbocker, there was the late scratch at the gate by track veterinarian of King Cause, last year’s Knickerbocker winner. According to NYRA publicity, Dr. Sarah Hinchliffe, the association’s senior examining veterinarian, did not like the way King Cause warmed up and she said he was off in both front legs.

That left the Knickerbocker a two-horse race between Pioneering Spirit and Commandeer. It became the fourth match race run on this circuit this year.

After running side by side for the opening six furlongs, Pioneering Spirit began to open up at the top of the stretch and splashed his way to a 15 3/4 length victory over Commandeer in the $112,500 Knickerbocker, which, due to the surface switch, lost its Grade 3 status pending a review by the North American Graded Stakes Committee.

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The Knickerbocker joined the Jockey Club Derby, Belmont Turf Sprint, Matron, Futurity, Floral Park, and Noble Damsel as turf stakes this meet to be rained off and run on dirt. The Noble Damsel, like the Knickerbocker, scratched down to a match race won by Gerrymander.

Jose Ortiz rode Gerrymander. Friday, he rode Pioneering Spirit, who was 0 for 10 with four seconds on dirt. Linda Rice claimed the horse out of a maiden race for $40,000 in March. After two more losses on dirt, Rice moved Pioneering Spirit to the turf where he has won five of seven starts, including the Bernard Baruch Stakes at Saratoga.

Rice left Pioneering Spirit in the Knickerbocker because “he had run some decent dirt races in the past even though he didn’t win,” she said. “I thought Jose rode him masterfully, put some pressure on him early and took advantage.”

Ortiz said he felt his horse was traveling better than Commandeer, ridden by Dylan Davis, and was confident when he asked his horse to run around the far turn.

“I felt like Dylan’s horse was struggling a little bit down the backside,” Ortiz said. “From that point on I decided to apply more pressure and more pressure and my horse was traveling well.”

Pioneering Spirit, a 4-year-old gelding by American Pharoah, covered the 1 1/8 miles in the slop in 1:51.42 and returned $3.40. Pioneering Spirit was actually the second choice behind Commandeer, who had $1,309 more money wagered on him to win.

There was no turf racing carded for Saturday. The all-dirt, nine-race card begins at 12:35 p.m.

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