Knicks Go will try longer distance in Pegasus World Cup
Knicks Go went crazy in his two races during autumn 2020. Now, his connections will see how far the horse can go to start his 2021 campaign.
Knicks Go came back from a 7 1/2-month layoff and set a track record winning a 1 1/16-mile allowance race in October at Keeneland. He returned a month later, set a breathtakingly fast pace, and still aired in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, setting another track record. Those two performances produced Beyer Speed Figures of 108 and 107, two of the highest North American figures of 2020.
Knicks Go now has raced 17 times while never starting at a distance beyond 1 1/16 miles, but his connections, trainer Brad Cox and the colt’s owner, the Korea Racing Authority, will see if Knicks Go can carry his abundant speed 1 1/8 miles in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup on Jan. 23 at Gulfstream Park.
“I think with two turns at Gulfstream, we let him do his thing and get to the lead,” Cox said.
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Cox listed the Pegasus as a possibility for Knicks Go a couple weeks ago and confirmed on Wednesday that the race was Knicks Go’s first target of 2021. Cox took over Knicks Go’s training only three starts back, sending him to a sharp Oaklawn allowance-race win last February before Knicks Go suffered a setback and required a long period of rest. Knicks Go scored a 70-1 shocker in the 2018 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland while trained by Ben Colebrook. His career-best Beyer before joining the Cox barn was a 93.
Knicks Go, by Paynter, has been based at Fair Grounds since the second week of December. He worked a half-mile there in 49.60 seconds on Dec. 27.
Essential Quality works
Also working a half in 49.60 on Dec. 27 – though not in company with Knicks Go – was Essential Quality, the likely 2020 2-year-old champion. Essential Quality is training with Cox’s string at Fair Grounds but could be shipped to Oaklawn for his first start of the season.
The two races under consideration are the Feb. 13 Risen Star at Fair Grounds and the Feb. 15 Southwest at Oaklawn. Cox said the Southwest could hold more appeal as a comeback spot because the race is at 1 1/16 miles while the Risen Star is contested at 1 1/8 miles.
Also based at Fair Grounds with Cox is the promising colt Mandaloun, an eye-catching winner in a pair of Kentucky starts this past fall who’s being aimed toward the Lecomte Stakes on Jan. 16 at Fair Grounds.
Essential Quality, a Godolphin homebred by Tapit, went 3 for 3 during his 2-year-old campaign, debuting with a Churchill maiden win before capturing the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.
Jus Lively favored
A high-end Louisiana-bred allowance race with a $35,000 claiming option is the highest-class fare on a stakes-less Saturday card at Fair Grounds. Jus Lively, third on Dec. 12 in the Louisiana Champions Day Classic, looks like a solid favorite in this mile and 70-yard dirt contest.
The card ends with a pair of maiden races for 3-year-olds. Race 9 is carded for two turns on turf while the nightcap, race 10, is a six-furlong dirt race with some promising stock. Gershwin, a half-brother to Jim Dandy winner Mystic Guide, debuts for trainer Mike Stidham and is coupled in the wagering with the Brad Cox-trained first-timer Colonel Bowman, the sixth foal to race out of Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint-winner Dubai Escapade.