Tide of the Sea takes McKnight; Always Shopping dominates La Prevoyante

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Mike Maker’s reputation for excellence with older turf horses got further confirmation Saturday when the trainer sent out the one-two finishers in the 53rd running of the Grade 3, $150,000 W. L. McKnight, part of the Pegasus World Cup undercard at Gulfstream Park.

Tide of the Sea, on the lead throughout under Tyler Gaffalione, held off his Maker-trained stablemate, Temple, in winning the 1 1/2-mile McKnight by three-quarters of a length. It was another half-length back to Doswell, the 8-5 favorite in a field of 11 older turf marathoners, while Sadler’s Joy rallied from well back to be fourth, another 2 1/4 lengths back.

Maker now has won four of the last five runnings of the McKnight.

Tide of the Sea loped along comfortably in fractions of 24 seconds, 48.68, and 1:12.57, and when Temple and jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. loomed boldly with a quarter-mile remaining, Gaffalione had enough in the tank to prevail.

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“His best races were in front, when he gets loose comfortably,” Gaffalione said. “He traveled great throughout and I just let him do his own thing. He finished up really well when that other horse came to challenge him.”

Tide of the Sea, a 5-year-old Kentucky-bred horse by English Channel, returned $10 as second choice after finishing the three-turn distance in 2:24.57 over firm going. Owned by the Three Diamonds Farm of Kirk Wycoff, he now has won three of his last four starts, having captured allowances at Kentucky Downs and Keeneland during the streak. The McKnight marks his first stakes triumph.

Tide of Sea was assigned a 96 Beyer Speed Figure for the win.

The victory was the fourth on the Pegasus card for Gaffalione, who frequently rides for Maker here and in Kentucky.

Maker, a former longtime assistant to D. Wayne Lukas, has been among the winningest trainers in North America in recent years, particularly with older stakes horses going long on turf. His prior McKnight wins came with Taghleeb (2017), Oscar Nominated (2018), and Zulu Alpha (2019).

Always Shopping ($4) in La Prevoyante

An hour earlier in the filly-mare counterpart to the McKnight, heavily favored Always Shopping got a perfect stalking trip under Irad Ortiz Jr. in dominating the 51st running of the Grade 3, $125,000 La Prevoyante going the same 1 1/2-mile distance on the turf.

This was the third victory in the last four starts for Always Shopping, a resurgent 5-year-old who has become a major player in this niche since adding blinkers for a September race. She finished three lengths before Delta’s Kingdom as the even-money favorite in a field of 12, getting the 12 furlongs in 2:25.38. It was another 1 1/4 lengths back to 50-1 shot Irony of Reality.

“She’s figured it out,” said Mike Repole, who bred and owns the daughter of Awesome Again.

Todd Pletcher trains Always Shopping for Repole, his longtime client. It was his second win in the La Prevoyante, following Safari Queen in 2006.

Always Shopping was assigned a Beyer of 94.

Longshots Aunt Hattie and Court Return led most of the way before Ortiz, always in a good position while saving ground, eased his mount away from the inner rail for the drive. From there, the issue was quickly settled, with Always Shopping confirming her sharp recent form, having won a pair of ungraded turf stakes over the Gulfstream course in recent months.

“The filly put me in a good position,” Ortiz said. “I tried to settle down and she settled down and she came back to me, and whenever I asked her she responded very well.”

This was the second graded win for Always Shopping, following the Grade 2 Gazelle over dirt at Aqueduct in April 2019.