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‘His Weapon Is His Speed’: Cox Pleased With Knicks Go Ahead Of Trip To Saudi Arabia

Pegasus World Cup winner Knicks Go has been reported in great form ahead of his attempt to add the $20 million Saudi Cup to his big-race haul.

The 5-year-old guaranteed his place in the world's most valuable race when landing the Pegasus at Gulfstream Park last month. He had previously won the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile in November.

His trainer Brad Cox was pleased with what he saw when Knicks Go completed his last breeze before travelling to Saudi Arabi ahead of the two-day Saudi Cup meeting on Feb. 19 and 20.

Cox revealed: “Knicks Go breezed very well on Saturday and he looked good on Sunday morning. I was very pleased with the work and, more importantly, how he looked after the work.

“Everything is going in the right direction. He's carrying his weight well and I'm happy with the way he's moving.

“The great horses like him are what you wake up for every morning. He's a fantastic horse and hopefully an international horse after Feb. 20.”

Knicks Go, owned by the Korea Racing Authority, galloped his rivals into the dirt in the Pegasus. He made all the running having started in his usual lightning-fast manner before pulling clear under Joel Rosario, who will again be on board in The Saudi Cup.

Cox admitted the impressive two-and-a-half length defeat of Jesus' Team, who was also runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, was not unexpected.

He said: “Going into the Pegasus he gave us a lot of confidence with the way he was training. We had the confidence he would perform well and he did – we were proud of the effort and he bounced out of it in good order.

“He proved in the Pegasus he can get 1800m (1 1/8 miles) at Grade 1 level against some very, very good horses so now we have to transfer that to a one-turn 1800m in Saudi. We're looking forward to the challenge and the opportunity.

“He's got a lot of speed and he can carry that speed over a mile or further. We're not going to take away anything that comes easy to him. His weapon is his speed but once the gate opens that's Joel's decision of where to place him, but you'd have to think he'll be in a very forward position in the race.”

Knicks Go will have to travel more than 7,000 miles to Saudi Arabia but Cox has no worries about his star coping with the journey or the course at the King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh.

He said: “It's the first time we've run a horse on the other side of the world so there's always a little bit of a concern, but I don't really feel it will be with him.

“He's got a great mind on him and he ships well. He obviously shipped to Gulfstream in good order and he doesn't get worked up – he knows when to shut it off and when to turn it on. He's got a lot of class so I really don't think it will be something that affects him at all.

“I've heard from a couple of horsemen that the track in Saudi has a great surface – very good to race on, so I'm excited about it.”

The magnitude of having one of the leading contenders for the world's most valuable race is not lost on Cox.

He added: “It's huge. It's something you dream about. It's only the second year of The Saudi Cup's existence but it's already captured the eyes of the entire racing world.

“It would be a tremendous accomplishment if we were able to win the race. It's an accomplishment in itself to have a horse that's capable of qualifying for it.”

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Likely Saudi Cup Day Fields Include 77 Contenders From Overseas

The likely runners for the two-day Saudi Cup meeting on February 19-20 have been announced, with 15 individual Group or Grade 1 winners set to line up.

In total, the King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh will host 77 overseas contenders representing 13 different countries from around the world who between them have won 24 Group or Grade 1 contests.

The highlight of the meeting is the $20 million Saudi Cup, and the second staging of the world's most valuable race looks set to feature another crop of star names.

The field could be headed by Brad Cox's Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and Pegasus World Cup winner Knicks Go (USA), who is part of a strong American contingent which includes Grade 1 Malibu Stakes winner Charlatan (USA) and Tacitus (USA), returning for a second tilt at the race and owned by Juddmonte Farms.

Ryuji Okubo's impressive Grade 1 Champions Cup winner Chuwa Wizard (JPN) represents Japan, while John Gosden is likely to saddle Mishriff (IRE) who was second in the Al Rajhi Bank Saudi Derby at this meeting 12 months ago.

A host of other top-class horses look likely to take their spots in Riyadh, with Freddy Head's four-time Group 1 winner Call The Wind (GB) seeking back-to-back victories in the $2.5m Red Sea Turf Handicap, alongside last year's third Prince Of Arran (GB), trained by Charlie Fellowes.

Both the 1200m $1.5m SAUDIA Riyadh Dirt Sprint and $1m stc 1351 Turf Sprint have also attracted a host of well-regarded types.

Group 1 July Cup winner Oxted (UK), trained in the UK by Roger Teal, looks all set to run in the SAUDIA Riyadh Dirt Sprint, where he could take on Yoshito Yahagi's Justin (JPN) – the earner of an automatic spot in the race after winning the Grade 3 Capella Stakes in December.

The stc 1351 Turf Sprint is another race that has attracted a strong field, with last year's winner Dark Power (IRE), trained in Bahrain by Allan Smith, back to defend his crown. He'll face a strong challenge again this time around with Charlie Appleby's Space Blues (IRE), the winner of his last four races, including most recently in the Group 1 Prix Maurice de Gheest, as well as Joseph O'Brien's Speak In Colours (GB) both expected to line up.

Bill Mott's Channel Maker (CAN), last seen finishing third to Tarnawa in the Breeders' Cup Turf, is the likely star name in the 2100m $1m Neom Turf Cup, a field which also includes Gronkowski (USA), now trained by Abdulaziz Khalid in Saudi Arabia.

The Purebred Arabian runners in the 2000m $2m Obaiya Arabian Classic are headlined by the Group 1-winning Messi (BEL), trained by Timo Keersmaekers in Belgium, who will clash with last year's winner Tallaab Al Khalediah (KSA), trained locally by Mutlaq Bin Mushref.

This year's Saudi Cup meeting also sees the addition of a new race, the $500k Al Rajhi Bank International Handicap, which is specifically aimed at horses trained in IFHA Part II or Part III countries, and is run on Friday 19 February on stc International Jockeys' Challenge day.

There are horses entered from six different countries, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Spain, the Czech Republic and Greece.

Tom Ryan, Director of Strategy and International Racing for the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia, said:

“We were very excited when we saw the entry list for the second staging of The Saudi Cup and now we know the likely fields, we really are delighted.

“A battle between the likes of Knicks Go, Charlatan, Mishriff and Chuwa Wizard in The Saudi Cup would be a huge thrill, while the strength and quality of all the other races has really stood up.

“The entire team are working incredibly hard to deliver a world class event where the health and safety of all participants is paramount. It has obviously been an difficult year for everyone and we are glad that we are able to put on this meeting for racing fans all over the world to enjoy.”

For a list of where you can watch the Saudi Cup from home, please visit www.thesaudicup.com.sa and click “Where to watch”.

Download possible runners and past performances: https://thesaudicup.com.sa/page/Races

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Bloodstock Agent Liz Crow Joins Writers’ Room

On a monumental day in her personal life, star bloodstock agent Liz Crow joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland Wednesday for an in-depth discussion. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Crow talked about her pride in the enormous success of her now dual-champion $100,000 purchase Monomoy Girl (Tapizar), the status of the sale market after a tumultuous 2020, what traits she looks for when buying horses and much more.

“She's taken us on an incredible ride to so many different racetracks and experiences and has done so much for my career,” Crow said of Monomoy Girl, who was named Champion Older Female at last week's Eclipse Awards after taking the Champion 3-Year-Old Filly title two years ago. “It's felt like a family because we've spent so much time together rooting her on. All of us get so nervous. Brad Cox, that's the only horse he legs the jockey up on. His heart is pounding out of his chest for the entire post parade. We all feel that way. It's been one of those stories that's never going to be topped for all of us that have gotten to experience her. And Spendthrift running her next year, it's so good for racing. She's a comeback story.”

Asked about her approach to buying horses, Crow said, “The most important thing for me is to be thorough. I have a team of short-listers, and a team of people that help organize me at a sale. If there are 4,320 horses, we look at all 4,320 of them. We consider all of them, no matter the pedigree, the consignor, the breeder. We go through the process on each horse. As far as when the individual comes out, the first thing I like to look at is their attitude. So often we can forget that these horses are not machines. The way they act in the paddock, the post parade, loading in the gate, the way they're handled in the barn, all that really matters. Then from there, I start looking at their conformation, assessing them from their hip to shoulder, to the way their neck sits in their shoulder. The walk is a little bit overrated to me, especially at 2-year-old sales when you get to see them gallop and breeze. The way they move on the track is so much more important.”

Elsewhere on the show, the crew remembered legendary New Jersey horseman John Forbes, reacted to the major 3-year-old preps of the weekend and, in the West Point Thoroughbreds news segment, provided updates on the historical horse racing story and Knicks Go (Paynter) heading to the Saudi Cup. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version.

The post Bloodstock Agent Liz Crow Joins Writers’ Room appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Knicks Go ‘In Great Shape’ After Pegasus Romp, Headed To Saudi Cup

Newly-minted champion trainer Brad Cox has been watching Pegasus World Cup winner Knicks Go very closely over the past week, and told the Thoroughbred Daily News that so long as all goes well with the Korea Racing Authority-owned colt's next breeze, he will be headed to Saudi Arabia for the $20 million Saudi Cup on Feb. 20.

“The owners would like to go to the Saudi Cup and they've made that clear,” Cox told the TDN. “I looked for a reason not to run him back in four weeks and he's given me no indication that would not be a good idea. That's why I've said I want to see him breeze one more time before we put him on a plane. He really rebounded from the Pegasus in great shape and in good order. He's not giving me any reason to not run him, so we're going to press forward.”

Plans call for Knicks Go to be shipped out on Monday, Feb. 8, and a strong showing in Saudi Arabia could lead the team to remain overseas for the $12 million Dubai World Cup on Mar. 27.

The 5-year-old son of Paynter first showed his talent with a win in the G1 Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland in 2018, then a runner-up finish in the G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile. He did not see the winner's circle again until transferred to Cox's care in 2020, when he won a pair of allowance races and the G1 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. Following his dominant showing in the G1 Pegasus World Cup, Knicks Go's record stands at six wins, three seconds and a third from 18 starts with earnings of $3,088,995.

Also expected to make the trip to Saudi Arabia for the $20 million race are G1 Malibu winner Charlatan (Bob Baffert) and multiple G1-placed Tacitus (Bill Mott).

Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.

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