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Equibase Analysis: By My Standards Poised To Run Down Knicks Go

The number seven is rampant in the 2021 edition of the Grade 1, $1 million Whitney Stakes, as each of the five entrants possesses seven career victories. Combined, the field has won 35 of 70 races for more than $12 million career earnings. Leading the group is Knicks Go, who has made a career of taking the lead at the start and running his competitors off their feet while coasting home in front in the final eighth of a mile. Using his early speed, Knicks Go has won five of his last six North American starts, most recently the Grade 3 Cornhusker Handicap at the distance of the Whitney.

Next in accomplishments is the filly Swiss Skydiver, winner of the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes against males last fall and winner of the Grade 1 Beholder Mile earlier this year. Maxfield has only been defeated one time in eight career starts and enters the Whitney off strong victories in the Grade 2 Alysheba Stakes and in the Grade 2 Stephen Foster Stakes, also at the distance of this race. Silver State has also won two graded stakes in a row starting with the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap in April at this nine-furlong trip, followed up by a win in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap in June. Last but certainly not least in this strong quintet is By My Standards¸ runner-up in the 2020 Whitney and winner of the Oaklawn Mile Stakes in April before a runner-up effort in the Metropolitan Handicap.

Owing to the heavy favoritism Knicks Go will receive from bettors, I'm going to opt for By My Standards to post the upset in this year's Whitney Stakes. Winner of the 2019 Louisiana Derby and well-regarded in the Kentucky Derby that year, By My Standards had little chance in the Derby after getting squeezed back at the start and losing position. Sitting out the balance of 2019, By My Standards returned as a 4-year-old last year and won three races in a row including both the New Orleans Classic Stakes and Oaklawn Handicap before a big runner-up effort behind Tom's d'Etat in the 2020 Stephen Foster Stakes. Next came a career best effort with a 113 Equibase Speed Figure when second behind Improbable in the 2020 Whitney. He ran poorly last fall in two races but just as he did to start 2020, By My Standards started 2021 with a bang, first winning the Oaklawn Mile in April before a runner-up effort in the Metropolitan Handicap (Met Mile) in June. Although second in the Met Mile, By My Standards may have been best as he brushed the gate at the start, was soundly bumped back to last of six and was wide on the turn. Nevertheless, By My Standards rallied and was beaten just one length at the finish by Silver State. Now having finished first or second in five of six career starts at this mile and one-eighth distance, with a clean break By My Standards can post the upset win in this year's Whitney by running as well as he did in last year's edition of the race.

That being said, By My Standards must run down Knicks Go in the stretch to win. There's a saying in racing that “speed is the ultimate bias,” and with Knicks Go that is a fact. Brilliant as a 2-year-old when winning the Breeders' Futurity in the fall of 2019, Knicks Go went off form but got his brilliant speed back after moving to the barn of Brad Cox over the winter of 2020. Reeling off three wins in a row including the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile last fall, Knicks Go won the Pegasus World Cup Invitational this past January with a strong 115 figure just one point shy of the career best 116 figure earned three months earlier. Following uncharacteristically poor fourth-place finishes in the Saudi Cup and Metropolitan Mile, Knicks Go showed all his speed, and talent, winning the Cornhusker Handicap last month at the distance of the Whitney and could prove impossible to catch once again.

Maxfield has been nearly perfect in his career, winning seven of eight races. His only loss came when trying 1 1/4 miles in the Santa Anita Handicap in March, perhaps just a bit farther than he wants to run. In his only try at the nine-furlong distance of the Whitney¸ Maxfield easily won the Stephen Foster Stakes in his most recent start near the end of June, earning a 107 figure. Perhaps he didn't have to run any faster, because two months earlier when winning the Alysheba Stakes, Maxfield earned a career-best 115 figure which stands up as nearly the same as the best figures of the top contenders in this field. It must also be noted that jockey Jose Ortiz is a perfect five-for-five when riding Maxfield, compared to four-for-five for Joel Rosario (Knicks Go) and seven-for-14 for Gabriel Saez (By My Standards).

In terms of probability, both Silver State and the filly Swiss Skydiver can't be ruled out. Silver State earned a 113 figure winning the Oaklawn Handicap in April at the distance of the Whitney before a game victory in the Metropolitan Handicap, while Swiss Skydiver already proved capable of beating males in last year's Preakness (111 figure) and won the Beholder Mile in March off a layoff similar to the one she's coming off today. Notably, North American leading jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. rides Swiss Skydiver for the first time and the jockey is in a pitched battle with his brother Jose for the coveted Saratoga riding title, with the brothers having won 24 races each through Wednesday and one behind leading jockey Luis Saez.

Win Contenders, in preference order:
By My Standards
Knicks Go
Maxfield

Whitney Stakes – Grade 1
Race 10 at Saratoga
Saturday, August 7 – Post Time 5:48 PM E.T.
One Mile and One Eighth
4-Year-Olds and Upward
Purse: $1 Million

Ellis Starr is national racing analyst for Equibase

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Knicks Go Meets Maxfield in Star-Studded Whitney

For a race that offers just a five-horse field, Saturday's GI Whitney S. at Saratoga will nevertheless feature plenty of intrigue, as two of the handicap division's top stars will meet the one-two finishers from the GI Metropolitan H. and a certain champion filly whose trainer called an audible to enter her in the meet centerpiece for older horses, a “Win and You're In” qualifier for the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic.

Given the morning-line at 6-5 is the Korea Racing Authority's enigmatic star speedball Knicks Go (Paynter). A shocking winner of the GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity at 70-1 for Ben Colebrook in 2018, the gray failed to find the mark in his next 10 tries before being reborn when switching to Brad Cox's barn. Winning a pair of allowance/optional claiming events by a combined 17 3/4 lengths, Knicks Go survived a sizzling pace and kicked clear to a 3 1/2-length conquest of the GI Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile last fall at Keeneland and followed that up with a frontrunning score in the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S.

It's been up-and-down in three starts since, however, as he retreated to a well-beaten fourth in the G1 Saudi Cup and filled the same slot with no visible excuse as a 4-5 chalk in the Met Mile. Shipping in to Iowa for the GIII Cornhusker H. July 2 at Prairie Meadows, however, he was back to the old Knicks Go, cruising to a devastating 10 1/4-length romp with a career-high 113 Beyer. In a short field with no definite other speed signed on, the 5-year-old figures to get the right setup in this nine-furlong test.

“He'll break running. We'll see how far he can take himself around there, hopefully the whole way,” Cox told the NYRA notes team. “He's set up for a big effort. He's been working really well at Ellis. [The Cornhusker] gave us the confidence to try the Whitney. It solidified that the horse needs two turns. We're excited about getting him back in the Grade I ranks going around two turns.”

Likely to be a close second choice is Godolphin's once-beaten sensation Maxfield (Street Sense), who tries for his first Grade I win since his juvenile season. He stamped himself as a potential championship contender when romping by 5 1/2 lengths from well back in the Breeders' Futurity, but a series of setbacks forced him to miss the Breeders' Cup and, after returning for a score in the GIII Matt Winn S. last May, eventually the Triple Crown. The imposing dark bay picked up where he left off with a 3 1/4-length success in the Tenacious S. last December at Fair Grounds, but suffered his first defeat when third at 11-10 in the GI Santa Anita H. Mar. 6. Since then, he notched open-length victories in the GIII Alysheba S. and GII Stephen Foster S. at Churchill to run his impressive career record to 7-for-8.

“He's a horse that even still is lightly raced. We were always on the back foot with him,” trainer Brendan Walsh said. “He ran twice as a 2-year-old, and we've always been battling a little inexperience or a lack of seasoning. But ever since we ran him in California and his couple runs since, he's getting to where he's a more seasoned horse and I think that's going to [serve] him well from here on in because he's going to have to be at his best against the horses he's up against. It's a big test for him, so we'll see how he stacks up against them.”

The favorite of the fans–if not the bettors–will be Peter Callahan's Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil), entered against the boys after a Saratoga barn quarantine forced trainer Ken McPeek to redirect her from a planned start in last Sunday's GIII Shuvee S. Reeling off a dazzling championship 3-year-old campaign that included 10 races at nine different tracks, five graded stakes triumphs and, of course, the chestnut's seismic defeat of eventual champion Authentic (Into Mischief) in the GI Preakness S. She flattened out to seventh in the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff, however, and, after bouncing back with a tally in the GI Beholder Mile S. Mar. 13 at Santa Anita, could not stay with Letruska (Super Saver) or Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) when third, beaten 6 1/2 lengths, in the GI Apple Blossom H. Apr. 17 at Oaklawn.

“She's had a bumpy first half of the year,” McPeek said. “No major issues, but just stuff that kept her from showing off. She had a little hind leg infection that was bothering her. It didn't appear to be a big deal going into Oaklawn, but it might have been why she ran a little flat that day. We're excited about [the Whitney]. The Shuvee would have been ideal, she's been ready to run. I've always thought if you're here, you run where you're at. It's a little bit out of the box, but she's ready.”

There's a realistic possibility that streaking Silver State (Hard Spun) could give trainer Steve Asmussen his record-breaking 9,446th win in Saratoga's second-most prestigious race. Scoring just once–in a dead heat–in his first five career outings, the $450,000 Keeneland September buy has been unstoppable since returning from a seven-month layoff last October, visiting the winner's circle six straight times, including in the Met last out June 5. The runner-up that day, By My Standards (Goldencents), who was also second to eventual champion older dirt male Improbable (City Zip) in last year's Whitney, rounds out the field.

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The Friday Show Presented By Monmouth Park: Kenny McPeek On Swiss Skydiver

Kenny McPeek admits he's not the most conventional trainer in America. Peter Callahan's multiple Grade 1 winner Swiss Skydiver, who McPeek is sending out against colts for the third time on Saturday in the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs. N.Y., is Exhibit A.

“European racing they don't think twice about doing this. In Australia they don't think anything about it,” McPeek said. “American racing tends to 'stay in your lane,' per se. You're not supposed to get out of your lane. Well, I'm not always that. I've been known to do things differently anyways, so what the heck.”

McPeek joins Paulick Report publisher Ray Paulick and bloodstock editor Joe Nevills to talk about the Eclipse Award-winning filly's career and how he decided to run her in the Whitney. He also reveals how he approaches the yearling sales with a limited budget and manages to find some of the hidden gems that have led to his career 100 graded stakes wins.

Paulick and Nevills also review the Woodbine Star of the Week, Munnyfor Ro, winner of the Woodbine Oaks, who poses a serious challenge for the Queen's Plate, a race that fillies have performed very well in over the last 20 years.

Watch this week's show, presented by Monmouth Park, below:

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Fantastic Five For Whitney

A compact, but talented field of five will face the starter for Saturday's GI Whitney S., a 'Win and You're In' qualifier for the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar Nov. 6.

Korean Racing Authority's Knicks Go (Paynter) has been pegged as the 6-5 morning-line favorite for trainer Brad Cox and jockey Joel Rosario. The 5-year-old is perfect in his last five starts around two turns, including a latest blow-out, big-figure success in the GIII Cornhusker H. at Prairie Meadows July 2. Cox attributes his losses in the Saudi Cup in February and in the GI Met Mile to a one-turn route configuration

“There was no hangover with him [out of the Saudi Cup] with how he was training, but back of my mind that one turn isn't his thing,” Cox told NYRA's Andy Serling after Knicks Go drew gate four, before telegraphing an unsurprising race strategy.

“Once the gate opens, it's up to Joel. Speed is his weapon and we'll try to utilize it,” Cox said.

Cox won last weekend's GII Jim Dandy S. for Godolphin with champion Essential Quality (Tapit), and Maxfield (Street Sense) will look to keep the ball rolling for the 'boys in blue.' Defeated into third in the GI Santa Anita H. in March, the homebred has since rolled to easy victories in the GII Alysheba S. and GII Stephen Foster S. at Churchill Downs. The 8-5 morning-line second choice departs the five hole with regular rider Jose Ortiz.

“He like the rest of us has enjoyed the weather. He's had a great preparation and he's ready to go,” Godolphin USA President Jimmy Bell said post-draw.

Silver State (Hard Spun) carries an imposing six-race winning streak into the Whitney, capped by a one-length defeat of the re-opposing By My Standards (Goldencents) in the Met June 5. Ricardo Santana, Jr. rides the 4-1 chance from the two hole, while By My Standards, runner-up to Improbable (City Zip) last year, has regular partner Gabriel Saez in gate one.

Swiss Skydiver (Dardevil) has already beaten the boys once in her career, taking down the colors of eventual Horse of the Year Authentic (Into Mischief) in last year's GI Preakness S. She will look to join the likes of Personal Ensign and Lady's Secret as female winners of the Whitney.

“The way the ball bounced, we really wanted to get her back into the game,” said trainer Ken McPeek, whose barn has only recently emerged from quarantine. “She's doing super. We're excited, she's won here before and it's going to be a fun weekend. We try to get her in a nice rhythm out there and let her make a run.”

Irad Ortiz, Jr. has the call on the 6-1 gamble from post position three.

Saturday, Saratoga

WHITNEY S.-GI, $1,000,000, 3yo/up, 1 1/8m

1 By My Standards (Goldencents), Calhoun, G Saez, 10-1

2 Silver State (Hard Spun), Asmussen, Santana Jr, 4-1

3 Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil), McPeek, Ortiz Jr, 6-1

4 Knicks Go (Paynter), Cox, Rosario, 6-5

5 Maxfield (Street Sense), Walsh, Ortiz, 8-5

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