One of 2021’s most electrifying horses, Knicks Go, ended his career Saturday with a somewhat disappointing runner-up finish in the Pegasus Cup World Championships Invitational at Gulfstream Park. However, it did nothing to diminish his career, which likely soon will include being named Horse of Year.
A look back at Knicks Go’s career
With nearly $10 million in earnings, Knicks Go leaves a career mark of 10 wins, four seconds and one third in 25 starts. He won twice at the Breeders Cup Championships, one Pegasus World Cup race and Grade 1 The Whitney Stakes at Saratoga.
Next week, he will ship to Taylor Made Stallions to begin his life as a sire.
As a 2-year-old, he was special. First, he won the 2018 Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity (G1) with trainer Ben Colebrook at 70-1 odds. Then he finished second to 2-year-old champion Game Winner in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1).
However, at 3, he was winless in eight starts, and his connections sent him to trainer Brad Cox in 2020.
A champion in the making under trainer Brad Cox
Once Knicks Go settled in with Cox, he soon scored two lopsided wins in allowance optional claiming races. Next, he snagged a Breeders’ Cup win that eluded him two years earlier, sprinting to a 3/1-2-length victory in the Grade 1 Dirt Mile at Keeneland.
That led to a front-running 2/3-4-length score in the Pegasus World Cup, which he followed up with wins in the Whitney and BC Classic.
“[Cox] took over a horse that had lost his way after an outstanding 2-year-old campaign and really turned him around,” said Andy Serling, NYRA racing analyst. “Cox, the great trainer that he is, saw Knicks Go for what he was. It didn’t take Cox long to realize that he should just ‘let him roll,’ because he wasn’t going to win many races rating behind the leaders. It’s just that on Saturday, he ran into a horse that was faster than he was.”
The 6-year-old grey son of Paynter, Knicks Go was bred in Maryland by Angie Moore and acquired by the Korea Racing Authority for $87,000 at the 2017 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
Horse racing analyst Jessica Paquette said Knicks Go “has been a testament to the Maryland breeding program and a thrill to watch. Great horses can come from anywhere and at any price tag.”
Last week, Cox told Bloodhorse about Knicks Go’s retirement, “It’s bittersweet. He’s been a tremendous horse to watch, with his Pegasus victory and two Breeders’ Cup wins. He’s given my team and my family a tremendous amount of enjoyment. He’s been a fun horse, a cool horse to have around the barn. He’s a class act who loves his job.
“It’s tough, because you wonder, ‘Where is the next one like him?’ You look down the shed row and you see some prospects that can maybe fill the void, but that will not happen every year. We’re looking for someone to step up, and there is definitely going to be an empty spot in the barn for a while. He’s going to be hard to replace.”
