Knicks Go points to Whitney, could target Breeders' Cup Classic
Knicks Go will make his next start in the $1 million Whitney Stakes on Aug. 7 at Saratoga and may have the Breeders’ Cup Classic as a late-season goal in 2021.
Trainer Brad Cox said Thursday that Knicks Go had come out of his powerhouse win July 2 in the Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap in excellent condition, and now the horse’s connections are looking toward the second half of the season.
“He’s going to train at Ellis Park,” Cox said. “Looks very good out of the race. Went back to the track, galloping, seems fantastic.”
Knicks Go got a career-best 113 Beyer Speed Figure winning the Cornhusker by 10 1/4 lengths while giving between six and 12 pounds to five foes. Knicks Go had won his first four starts, including the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and the 2021 Pegasus World Cup Invitational, after being transferred to Cox, but came into the Cornhusker following fourth-place finishes in the Saudi Cup in February and the Metropolitan Handicap in June. Both of those races were contested around one turn, and Knicks Go, under Cox’s care, has been untouchable around two turns.
“Zero doubt about it now,” Cox said, when asked about the horse’s apparent preference for two-turn racing over one-turn starts. “I know I feel it. He’s able to clear off going into the second turn, even off the first turn going down the backstretch.”
The Cornhusker was Knicks Go’s second tally at 1 1/8 miles, the Whitney distance, and Cox said the horse’s ability to see out that trip has brought the 1 1/4-mile Classic into play this year.
“The Classic being at Del Mar this year, a little bit shorter stretch, he appreciated that. It helps his running style,” Cox said.
Knicks Go now has seven wins from 21 career starts. Owned by the Korea Racing Authority, the 5-year-old is by Paynter out of the Outflanker mare, Kosmo’s Buddy.