breeders' cup classic | Horse Racing Free Tips

Knicks Go All Alone in Final Classic Prep

Going…going… gone. Leading older horse Knicks Go (Paynter), as expected, punched his ticket to the GI Breeders' Cup Classic with a facile victory in Saturday's GIII Lukas Classic S. at Churchill Downs.

The overwhelming 1-9 favorite took his usual spot on the front end and led the field of six through very manageable fractions of :23.53 and :47.27. Joel Rosario hit the gas entering the far turn, and Knicks Go responded in spades. He passed the quarter pole as the one to catch, cornered for home in the four path and cruised down the lane to a comfortable score under very confident handling. It was four lengths back to Independence Hall (Constitution) in second.

“We're excited to get this race under our belt,” winning trainer Brad Cox said. “He's a fast horse and he's dangerous when he gets to show that speed around two turns. Joel gave him an easy trip on the front end. He seemed like he was able to take a breather and open back up around the turn. On to the Breeders' Cup.”

Rosario added, “I kept him off the rail today a little bit but he was going very easy. He's a really fast horse and he did what he needed to do. He's always been an impressive horse to ride and always been quick. Today, he did things very easily and now on to bigger things.”

Fourth as the 4-5 favorite in the GI Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan H. around a one-turn mile at Belmont June 5, the gray returned to his best form around two turns when airing in the GIII Cornhusker H. at Prairie Meadows in July with a gaudy 113 Beyer Speed Figure and was coming off another dominant tally in Saratoga's GI Whitney S. Aug. 7.

Knicks Go's loaded resume also includes top-level wins in the 2018 GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity, 2020 GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and this year's GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S.

Pedigree Notes:

Knicks Go stands alone as the only Grade I winner to date for Paynter, who has four graded winners among his 19 black-type winners. The breeding of Knicks Go has been well-documented, with his dam's last two matings being significantly upgraded: Kosmo's Buddy has a yearling filly by Justify and a filly by Ghostzapper of this year. Ghostzapper, like Paynter, is a son of Awesome Again.

Knicks Go, the fifth Maryland-bred generation of his family, is one of 10 stakes winners out of daughters of the Danzig sire Outflanker.

The Moore family's GreenMount Farm claimed the two-time stakes winner Kosmo's Buddy for $40,000 in her penultimate career start at Monmouth in 2010. She RNA'd for $195,000 at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Mixed Sale.

Saturday, Churchill Downs
LUKAS CLASSIC S.-GIII, $337,000, Churchill Downs, 10-2, 3yo/up, 1 1/8m, 1:47.85, ft.
1–KNICKS GO, 125, h, 5, by Paynter
                1st Dam: Kosmo's Buddy (MSW, $298,095), by Outflanker
                2nd Dam: Vaulted, by Allen's Prospect
                3rd Dam: Aube d'Or, by Medaille d'Or
($40,000 Wlg '16 KEENOV; $87,000 Ylg '17 KEESEP). O-Korea
Racing Authority; B-Angie Moore (MD); T-Brad H. Cox; J-Joel
Rosario. $184,140. Lifetime Record: MGISW, 23-9-3-1, $5,553,135.
Werk Nick Rating: F. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Independence Hall, 121, c, 4, Constitution–Kalahari Cat, by
Cape Town. ($100,000 Ylg '18 KEESEP; $200,000 RNA 2yo '19
FTFMAR). O-Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Twin Creeks
Racing Stables, LLC, WinStar Farm, LLC, Kathleen & Robert
Verratti; B-Woodford Thoroughbreds, LLC (KY); T-Michael W.
McCarthy. $79,400.
3–Shared Sense, 121, r, 4, Street Sense–Collective, by
Bernardini. O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. $39,700.
Margins: 4, 1HF, HD. Odds: 0.10, 10.00, 27.70.
Also Ran: Tacitus, Chess Chief, Sprawl.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Medina Spirit Takes On Accomplished Elders in Awesome Again

Medina Spirit (Protonico) looks to secure his spot in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic as he faces his elders Saturday in the GI Awesome Again S. at Santa Anita. Winner of the GIII Robert B. Lewis S. here in January, the Florida-bred was second in both the Mar. 6 GII San Felipe S.–won by his former stablemate and recent GII Kelso H. victor Life is Good (Into Mischief)–and Apr. 3 GI Santa Anita Derby. The dark bay went wire to wire in the May 1 GI Kentucky Derby, a win that is now in question after a minor overage of betamethasone was detected in post-race testing. Third after setting the early pace in the GI Preakness S. May 15, he scored a facile, front-running victory in the Shared Belief S. at Del Mar last time Aug. 29. Medina Spirit was entered to run in last weekend's GI Pennsylvania Derby, but trainer Bob Baffert scratched him in favor of this test after the draw. Stablemate Azul Coast (Super Saver) breaks to Medina Spirit's outside here after taking a Del Mar optional claimer Aug. 22

GI Pacific Classic top two Tripoli (Kitten's Joy) and Tizamagician (Tiznow) both return in this spot. The former has run on the turf for most of his career, but sports a record of 3-2-1-0 since switching dirt, winning a local optional claimer June 19 and finishing second in the GII San Diego H. July 17. Tizamagician entered the Pac Classic off a win in the GIII Cougar II S. at Del Mar July 18.

GI Santa Anita H. victor Idol (Curlin) was sidelined after scoring that career high Mar. 6 and makes his first start off the bench in this Breeders' Cup qualifier. He boasts a strong worktab in preparation, most recently breezing a bullet six furlongs in 1:12 flat here Sept. 26.

John Shireffs sends out two in here in Express Train (Union Rags) and Midcourt (Midnight Lute). Winner of the GII San Diego H. July 17, Express Train was a well-beaten sixth in the Pac Classic, but is typically a consistent money earner and could get a piece here. MGSW Midcourt comes into this off an allowance win at this oval June 18. Shared Belief third Stilleto Boy (Shackleford) rounds out the field.

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Knicks Go Lays Over Field in Lukas Classic

The inaugural running of the GIII Lukas Classic in 2013, contested as the Homecoming Classic, was won handily by the previous year's GI Breeders' Cup Classic hero Fort Larned (E Dubai), who would go on to finish a hard-trying fourth in defense of his Classic title five weeks later. This year's renewal goes through Korea Racing Authority's Knicks Go (Paynter), who is expected to cement his status as the favorite for the championship day feature Saturday afternoon.

An imperious winner of last year's GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile over a Keeneland main track that played to his strengths, the Maryland-bred wired the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. in January to earn a trip to the $20-million Saudi Cup. A tiring fourth over the one-turn, nine-furlong configuration at King Abdulaziz in February, he failed to fire in the GI Met Mile H., also around a single bend June 5, and got the confidence boost he needed with a 10 1/4-length romp in the GIII Prairie Meadows Cornhusker H. going a two-turn mile and an eighth July 10, good for a career-best 113 Beyer. When Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil) elected not to match motors with him in the GI Whitney S. Aug. 7, Knicks Go was loose on the lead and set an aggressive pace, but had plenty to offer late in besting Maxfield (Street Sense) by 4 1/2 solid lengths.

Beaten at odds-on in the GI Woodward S. and GI Jockey Club Gold Cup last season, Tacitus (Tapit) was a non-threatening fourth in last year's Classic and makes his first start since a seventh in the Saudi Cup. He looks to be training forwardly at Saratoga for this return to action.

Independence Hall (Constitution) popped a career-best 104 Beyer when finishing three lengths adrift of Knicks Go in the Pegasus and was most likely in need of the run when fifth to GI Awesome Again S. hopeful Tripoli (Kitten's Joy) in the GI TVG.com Pacific Classic over the Classic course and distance first off a four-month layoff Aug. 21.

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‘Honest’ Tripoli Has Found A New Home On The Main Track

Sired by Kitten's Joy, America's leading active turf stallion eight years in a row and the sire of more than 100 stakes winners in 12 crops, it made sense to have Tripoli race exclusively on grass when the chestnut colt began his career at Santa Anita on May 23, 2020.

It was far from an auspicious debut, however, as Tripoli finished 12th and last at 13-1 in the 5 ½ furlong turf sprint. He did a complete turnaround in his next race, winning by a nose over the same venue at odds of 46-1.

Tripoli captured one more turf victory in nine subsequent grass starts, this one going a mile at Santa Anita on May 1. After that, trainer John Sadler and owners Hronis Racing LLC sought greener pastures in the form of three straight runs on the main track, capping them with a victory in the Grade 1 TVG Pacific Classic at a mile and a quarter on Aug. 21.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it, so next up is Saturday's Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes on Santa Anita's main track, one of five graded events that day, three of them Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” Challenge Races giving the winner a fees-paid berth to their respective Breeders' Cup races on Nov. 5 and 6 at Del Mar.

“Tripoli won a nice race (on dirt) at Santa Anita in the spring,” Sadler said, referring to an overnight route on June 19. “We took him to Del Mar and he continued his improvement with a second (by a half-length) in the Grade II San Diego Handicap (July 17).

“Then he came back and won the Pacific Classic. He's a horse that just loves the dirt right now. He's honest and consistently runs well. He was unlucky a few times on the turf but he should run well on Saturday.

“It looks like a good spot.”

A son of the Irish-bred stallion El Prado, Kitten's Joy stands for $60,000 at Hill 'n' Dale farms in Paris, Ky.

Sadler reports that Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby winner Rock Your World, who was nominated to the Awesome Again, will instead be pointed to the Grade 2 Twilight Derby at a mile and one eighth on turf closing day, Oct. 31.

The Awesome Again, race 10 of 11 with an early 12:30 p.m. first post time: Tizamagician, Flavien Prat, 4-1; Midcourt, Edwin Maldonado, 12-1; Express Train, Juan Hernandez, 4-1; Stilleto Boy, Kent Desormeaux, 20-1; Medina Spirit, John Velazquez, 5-2; Azul Coast, Abel Cedillo, 12-1; Tripoli, Tiago Pereira, 3-1; and Idol, Joe Bravo, 5-1.

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