Tour Player back on favorite surface for Knicks Go

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Tour Player got the ideal setup six weeks ago when he beat Dragoon Guard in the Royal New Kent Stakes at Colonial Downs.

Now, Tour Player returns to his favorite surface and hopes to keep his year-long run of success going when he again meets Dragoon Guard and nine others at a mile in Saturday’s $200,000 Knicks Go Stakes at Churchill Downs.

Tour Player is 5 for 11 in his career and 4 for 5 at Churchill Downs. He’s won his last three starts around one turn, including a third-level allowance going a mile last Nov. 30. His only defeat over the last 16 months came in the Grade 3 Fred Hooper at Gulfstream Park. That race was won in dominant fashion by the extremely talented Knightsbridge, but there were additional reasons Tour Player was beaten 10 1/2 lengths.

“He washed out,” trainer Whit Beckman said. “As soon as we got off the van down at Gulfstream he was running circles in his stalls. It was like 90 degrees, the horse was pouring sweat in the paddock. He ran pretty evenly.”

At Colonial, in a four-horse field, Tour Player sat third behind dueling leaders that included Dragoon Guard. While Tour Player opened up a three-length lead in midstretch, he ultimately settled for 1 1/4-length victory under jockey Flavien Prat.

:: KENTUCKY DERBY 2026: Top contenders, point standings, news, and more

“At Colonial, I was impressed the way Flavien measured that situation, dropped back a little bit, and made a fantastic run,” Beckman said.

Saturday, Tour Player breaks from post 6 under Prat.

Dragoon Guard may be too fast for his own good. In each of his last two starts, the Cherokee Mile last Nov. 30 and the Royal New Kent, he was part of a hot pace, but could not see out the last furlong, finishing second both times. Trainer Brad Cox is going to remove blinkers for the Knicks Go, named after the 2021 Horse of the Year trained by Cox.

“He’ll probably still be forward, but we’re hoping we can see it out that last sixteenth of a mile,” Cox said.

Moonlight, trained by Chris Block, should appreciate the cutback to a one-turn mile. He has won his last three starts at Churchill – including defeating Dragoon Guard in the Cherokee Mile – and is 3 for 4 at one mile overall.

Bill Mott has two in here, with Capital Idea looking like the stronger of the pair. He finished second to next-out stakes winner Pentathlon in an allowance at Tampa Bay Downs in February and was second to repeating winner Grande in the Grade 3 Ghostzapper at Gulfstream in March.

Mott also sends out Scotland, who did win the Cherokee Mile here in 2024, but is 0 for 6 since, including a last-place finish behind Pentathlon in the Army Mule Stakes on March 28. Mott is removing blinkers from Scotland’s equipment Saturday.

Will Take It, who two back won the Fifth Season going a mile at Oaklawn Park, has had previous success at Churchill having won the Hanshin Stakes going a mile here last June.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.