Taylor Made Stallions | Horse Racing Free Tips

Knicks Go to Stand at Taylor Made

Four-time Grade I winner and one of the favorites for 2021 Horse of the Year Knicks Go (Paynter–Kosmo's Buddy, by Outflanker) will retire to Taylor Made Stallions at the conclusion of his racing career, the farm announced Monday. Campaigned by Korea Racing Authority, Knicks Go is currently the top-ranked older horse on the NTRA Thoroughbred Poll as he prepares for his next start in the $6-million GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar Nov. 6. A stud fee will be announced after the Breeders' Cup.

“The KRA's goal was to buy and race in the U.S. with an eye toward developing stallions,” said Jun Park, racing manager for the KRA's United States stable. “As his name suggests, Knicks Go is a horse that was selected by a genome selection program called K-Nicks, which was designed to help select optimally excellent racehorses and stallions. To have done this for such a short time and to already have a multiple Grade I-winner like Knicks Go is very gratifying. We are excited to stand him at Taylor Made, and we look forward to his next career as a stallion.”

An earner of $5,553,135 thus far in his racing career, Knicks Go has registered triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures of 113, 111, 108 (twice), 107, and 104 and has recorded two track records at Keeneland, one of them in winning last year's GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile where he stopped the clock in a sizzling 1:33.85. He also established a new course standard in his prep for the Dirt Mile, winning an allowance race at 1 1/16 miles by 10 1/4 lengths in a brisk 1:40.79.

Breaking his maiden on debut in July of his 2-year-old season, Knicks Go went on to capture that year's GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland with a 5 1/2-length romp. He was then second to eventual champion Game Winner (Candy Ride {Arg}) in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Dominating the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. to start his 5-year-old campaign, he also proved uncatchable in winning the historic GI Whitney S. at Saratoga in August by 4 1/2 lengths after crushing his rivals by 10 1/4 lengths in his prior start, taking the GIII Cornhusker H. at Prairie Meadows in July with a career-best 113 Beyer. He most recently cruised to a four-length score in the GII Lukas Classic S. Oct. 2 at Churchill Downs in his final prep for the Breeders' Cup.

“He really is what a horse is supposed to be,” Brad Cox said of Knicks Go. “They are supposed to get faster and stronger as they get older. He's a little bit of a throwback horse as far as accomplishing things early and then still being in training three years later.”

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Knicks Go To Stand At Taylor Made Stallions Upon Retirement

Knicks Go, a four-time Grade 1 winner and a dominating winner of the 2020 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and the 2018 Grade 1 Breeders' Futurity at two, will retire to Taylor Made Stallions at the conclusion of his racing career, the farm announced today.

Campaigned by Korea Racing Authority, Knicks Go is currently the top-ranked older horse on the NTRA Thoroughbred Poll as he prepares for his next start in the $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar on Nov. 6. A stud fee will be announced after the Breeders' Cup.

“The KRA's goal was to buy and race in the U.S. with an eye toward developing stallions,” said Jun Park, racing manager for the KRA's United States stable. “As his name suggests, Knicks Go is a horse that was selected by a genome selection program called K-Nicks, which was designed to help select optimally excellent racehorses and stallions. To have done this for such a short time and to already have a multiple Grade 1 winner like Knicks Go is very gratifying. We are excited to stand him at Taylor Made, and we look forward to his next career as a stallion.”

An earner of $5,553,135 thus far in his racing career, Knicks Go is a Grade 1 winner from eight to nine furlongs and has run triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures of 113, 111, 108 (twice), 107, and 104, all in top company.

With his blend of speed and stamina, Knicks Go has recorded two track records at Keeneland, one of them in winning last year's Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile where he sizzled a mile in 1:33.85. He also established a new course standard in his prep for the Dirt Mile, winning an allowance race at 1 1/16 miles by 10 1/4 lengths in a brisk 1:40.79.

While Knicks Go is a leader in the handicap division, he was also precocious. He broke his maiden on debut in July of his 2-year-old season, winning wire-to-wire by 3 1/2 lengths. Knicks Go went on to capture that year's Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland, running his rivals off their feet with a 5 1/2-length romp. He also finished second to eventual champion Game Winner in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

Heading into the Breeders' Cup, Knicks Go has been in a class by himself. He proved uncatchable in winning the historic G1 Whitney Stakes at Saratoga in August by 4 1/2 lengths, defeating Grade 1 winners Maxfield and Silver State with a 111 Beyer. The 5-year-old simply crushed his rivals by 10 1/4 lengths in his prior start, taking the G3 Cornhusker Handicap at Prairie Meadows in July, earning a career-best 113 Beyer.

In the $400,000 G2 Lukas Classic at Churchill Downs on Oct. 2, Knicks Go toyed with the competition again, this time winning by four lengths geared down at the wire in his final prep for this year's Breeders' Cup Classic. His final time for the 1 1/8 miles was 1:47.85, about a half a second off the 1999 track record set by Victory Gallop.

Among Knicks Go's signature wins was a record-setting triumph in last year's Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Keeneland. With regular rider Joel Rosario aboard, Knicks Go assumed his customary position at the head of the field shortly after the break. He blitzed through fractions of :21.98, :44.40, and 1:08.25 before reporting home a facile winner in the sizzling time of 1:33.85 with a Beyer of 108. The final clocking lowered Liam's Map's previous record of 1:34.54 set in winning the 2015 Dirt Mile.

Knicks Go's most lucrative victory to date came in this year's $3 million G1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes at Gulfstream Park. In his seasonal debut and his first start since winning the Dirt Mile, Knicks Go sped to the front at the break of the 1 1/8-mile event and maintained a clear advantage throughout, ultimately scoring by 2 3/4 lengths. The tremendous effort earned a 108 Beyer. Following the Pegasus win, Cox said, “Great horses do great things, and he just did something great.”

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Yes This Time Quickens Best in Kent

Heavily favored to score a fifth consecutive victory and his sixth from eight starts overall, Edge Racing's Yes This Time (Not This Time) had some work to turning into the stretch of Saturday's GIII Kent S. over rain-affected turf at Delaware Park, but he rallied through an opening at the rail and outfinished pacesetting Like the King (Palace Malice) for an ultimately comfortable success.

Allowed to amble along as the pacesetter had things very much his own way on the engine, Yes This Time was shuffled back to last and was off the bridle for a stride or two with about three furlongs to race. Busily ridden by Joe Bravo approaching the quarter pole, the chestnut showed a quick turn of foot, confronted the GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks winner to his inside with a bit less than an eighth of a mile

Claimed for $30,000 from his breeder and trainer Mike Stidham out of a victorious effort when trying the grass for the first time at the Fair Grounds Dec. 5, Yes This Time was fourth in a starter/optional event at Gulfstream Jan. 21 before scooping similar events Feb. 20 and Mar. 20. A 2 1/2-length winner when facing allowance/optional rivals in Hallandale Apr. 11, he overcame a very wide trip and rallied from last to earn his first black-type success in the May 8 English Channel S. at the South Florida oval.

Pedigree Notes:

Yes This Time becomes the second graded winner for Taylor Made's Not This Time and is simultaneously the 50th graded winner produced by a daughter of the outstanding Smart Strike. The colt's second dam made a name for herself on the Midlantic circuit, winning four black-type events at Delaware Park, including the grassy Beautiful Day S. As a broodmare, Shad was responsible for Strike A Deal (Smart Strike), a two-time graded winner on turf, as well as Pacific Wind (Curlin), victorious in the GII Ruffian S. and third in the GI Juddmonte Spinster S. on the main, while earning graded placings in the GII Honeymoon S. and GIII Senorita S. on the grass. The unraced Smart Jilly is the dam of a 2-year-old colt by Street Sense and a yearling filly by Blame.

Saturday, Delaware Park
KENT S.-GIII, $150,125, Delaware, 7-3, 3yo, 1 1/8mT, 1:52.39, sf.
1–YES THIS TIME, 117, c, 3, by Not This Time
                1st Dam: Smart Jilly, by Smart Strike
                2nd Dam: Shag, by Dixieland Band
                3rd Dam: Ismelda, by Wavering Monarch
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O-Edge Racing; B-Barry S. Golden
(KY); T-Kelly J. Breen; J-Joe Bravo. $90,000. Lifetime Record:
8-6-0-0, $215,025. Werk Nick Rating: B. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Like the King, 117, c, 3, Palace Malice–Like a Queen, by
Corinthian. ($28,000 Wlg '18 KEENOV; $170,000 Ylg '19
OBSOCT). O-M Racing Group, LLC; B-Horseshoe Racing, LLC
(KY); T-Wesley A. Ward. $30,000.
3–Wootton Asset (Fr), 117, c, 3, Wootton Bassett (GB)–Love Liu
(Fr), by Librettist. (€37,000 Ylg '19 AROYRG). O-Madaket
Stables LLC; B-Ecurie Haras Du Cadran & Mme. Patrick
Ades-Hazan (FR); T-H. Graham Motion. $16,500.
Margins: 1, 1, 1HF. Odds: 1.10, 3.50, 5.00.
Also Ran: Doubleoseven, Eamonn, Be Here. Scratched: Gershwin, Shackled Love, Vikram. 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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Selected Virginia Stallion Season Auction Offerings To Benefit Kentucky HHR Lobbying Efforts

The developing situation regarding the status of historical horse racing (HHR) in Kentucky has created an “all hands on deck” scenario within the state's racing industry to ensure the crucial revenue source remains in place.

That call has been heard outside the state as well. The Virginia Thoroughbred Association will feature a group of offerings during its upcoming stallion season auction where the full proceeds will benefit the Kentucky Equine Education Project's lobbying efforts toward restoring HHR in the state and putting it on firmer legal ground.

The auction, set to take place Wednesday, Feb. 10, features four seasons donated thus far by Kentucky stallion operations where the money will go toward the KEEP Alliance, a branch of KEEP specifically dedicated to lobbying, grassroots campaigns, and otherwise raising awareness among key people and groups about the importance of HHR in Kentucky.

As of Friday morning, the seasons benefitting the KEEP Alliance come from Airdrie Stud's Complexity, Spendthrift Farm's Goldencents, Gun Runner of Three Chimneys, and Not This Time of Taylor Made Stallions. Farms are welcome to donate further seasons to benefit the KEEP Alliance prior to the auction.

VTA executive director Debbie Easter said the seasons were added to the auction in recent weeks, helping push the total number of different stallions on offer near 220 from 11 different states.

“Obviously, it's a good cause,” Easter said. “Everybody gets too regionalized sometimes, and it's important for us to work together to help each other. This is an important thing for Kentucky, and helping keeping things going along is important. Horse people working together always do better than working apart, so we're trying to move the needle a little bit.”

Virginia's Thoroughbred economy is familiar with the benefits HHR can have on a program.

Gov. Ralph Northam signed an HHR bill into law in 2018, which set into motion the re-opening of Colonial Downs and significant funding sources to fuel purses and incentive programs on and off the racetrack. The Virginia-Certified program paid out a record $1.77 million in awards in 2020, and Easter said HHR revenues have just started to kick into that pool, leaving even more room for growth in the future.

“We certainly know how important HHR is going to be to us,” Easter said, “and we've certainly seen what it's done for Kentucky, and they can't afford to lose that.”

While Virginia has been able to show positive growth with the help of HHR, it's widely accepted that Kentucky's Thoroughbred market is the tide that lifts and sinks the other regional-market boats in North America.

Even the largest foal-producing jurisdictions outside of the Bluegrass State are supported heavily by Kentucky stallions, and its starting gates are filled by Kentucky-breds. A weakened Kentucky racing industry would have ripple effects on the state's breeding program, and the rest of North America would feel the aftershock whether they race or breed in the state or not.

“Debbie was very enthusiastic about helping us,” said Elizabeth Jensen, KEEP's executive vice president. “I think everybody realizes as goes Kentucky, so goes the rest of the country's racing industry, so we need to keep it strong and vibrant here. We're happy that our counterparts in Virginia are willing to help us out and support us.”

Beyond the season donations, Jensen said Kentucky's major stallion operations have supportive of the advocacy measures to preserve HHR in the state. She noted that farms including Ashford Stud and WinStar Farm have made cash donations, and many stallion stations have sent out emails to their client lists urging them to take action.

“Preserving historical horse racing has to be the entire industry in Kentucky's priority right now,” Jensen said. “If we lose that, we lose 1,400 jobs overnight, and losing those purses and the horses that we're getting at Ellis Park and Kentucky Downs during summer racing, and just the whole racing circuit in Kentucky will be severely impacted if we don't get this done.”

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