Knicks Go Romps in Lukas Classic Ahead of Classic Bid
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Photo: Coady Photography
Knicks Go wins the Lukas Classic Stakes at Churchill Downs
If there was any concern about Knicks Go 's performance in the $337,000 Lukas Classic (G2) Oct. 3 at Churchill Downs, it might be whether he got enough out of it to set him up for the Longine's Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) Nov. 6 at Del Mar.
It was that easy.
After leading five rivals through leisurely fractions, Knicks Go was looking at the crowd through the final furlong and jockey Joel Rosario was peeking back in search of nonexistent company.
Despite being geared down well before the wire, Knicks Go won by four lengths and finished the 1 1/8 miles on the fast track in 1:47.85, missing by about half a second the track record set in 1999 by Victory Gallop . That was despite an opening half-mile in :47.27, compared with the :44.68 clocked by allowance horses in the next race.
Independence Hall turned for home second after chasing Knicks Go down the backstretch and finished there, never threatening the winner. Shared Sense , Knicks Go's stablemate in the Brad Cox barn, finished third and old rival Tacitus ran evenly to finish fourth.
Cox and Rosario swept both features on the Churchill Downs card as Shortleaf Stable's Plainsman got through along the rail to post a minor upset in the $297,250 Ack Ack Stakes (G3), a one-turn mile.
Easy as the Lukas Classic looked on the track, Jun Park, American representative for Knicks Go's owner, the Korea Racing Authority, said the horse entered the race with some question marks.
"We came here to this race with a couple concerns because he had never won at Churchill Downs," Park said. "He finished second in the Breeders' Cup (Juvenile, G1) as a 2-year-old. But this time, he won easily and what a nice horse."
Connections of Knicks Go enjoy the trophy presentation for the Lukas Classic
Knicks Go's last defeat was a fourth-place finish in the Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan Handicap (G1) at Belmont Park June 5. Since then, he is 3-for-3.
"He was training just as well working up to the Met Mile," Cox said. "Obviously, if he wasn't, we wouldn't have taken that chance. But it was a grade 1 and it was there. Didn't work out. Got him back around two turns and he's pretty solid around two turns, to say the least.
Asked about getting the 1 1/4 miles at Del Mar, Cox said, "Well, sure. That's his trip. That's what we're going to do—take it to 'em and see if it works."
Earlier in the week, Knicks Go had leapfrogged stablemate Essential Quality back into first place in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings.
Video: Lukas Classic S. (G3)
Knicks Go, out of the Outflanker mare Kosmo's Buddy , was acquired by the KRA at the 2017 Keeneland September Yearling Sale for the bargain price of $87,000 out of the Woods Edge Farm consignment. Bred in Maryland by Angie Moore, he was originally a $40,000 purchase by Northface Bloodstock when consigned by Bill Reightler, agent, at the 2016 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.
He started returning on the KRA's investment early, finishing third in the Arlington-Washington Futurity at Arlington International Racecourse, then romping home a 5 1/2-length winner in the Claiborne Breeders' Futurity (G1) at Keeneland, the latter at 70-1 odds. The punters remained unimpressed as he was dispatched at odds of 40-1 in the Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Juvenile, yielding late to finish second to Game Winner .
He leveled off after that in a long stretch of disappointments that ended with a pair of victories, separated by a seven-month layoff—good enough to make him the favorite in the 2020 Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) at Keeneland, which he won by 3 1/2 lengths.
A win in the 1 1/8-mile Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) at Gulfstream Park then served as a prep for a fourth-place showing in the $20 million Saudi Cup and another fourth in the Met Mile and victories in the Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap (G3) and the Whitney Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course.
The name "Knicks Go," by the way, has nothing to do with New York's entry in the NBA. Rather, it refers to a proprietary nicking system the Korea Racing Association uses in long-range planning for its breeding program as it seeks to ascend the ladder in world racing.
Park also addressed the ongoing debate about whether the horse's name is pronounced "K-nicks" or simply "Nicks." He said leaving the "K" silent "sounds good."
Now with earnings of $5,553,135, Knicks Go holds a 9-3-1 record in 23 starts.
In the Ack Ack, Plainsman was reserved off the early speed, found plenty of room along the inside through the final furlong, and held off a late bid by the odds-on favorite, previously undefeated 3-year-old Beau Liam , to post his fourth win from his last five starts.
Plainsman, a 6-year-old son of Flatter from the Street Sense mare S S Pinafore , could be headed to a Breeders' Cup engagement, too, although Cox said he will huddle with owner John Ed Anthony of Shortleaf Stable.
"We'll talk it over and come up with a game plan," Cox said. "See who shows up in California and see if it makes sense."
Bred in Kentucky by Joe Minor, Plainsman was bought for $350,000 by Shortleaf from Taylor Made Sales Agency's consignment to the 2016 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. He has earned $729,207 with an 8-6-3 record in 25 starts.