When Knicks Go (Paynter) arrived in Brad Cox's barn late in 2019 the trainer didn't know what to expect. The Maryland-bred had won the 2019 GI Breeders' Futurity and was second in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile in his next start. But his recent form for trainer Ben Colebrook had not been good. He had lost 10 straight and finished in the money only three times during that span. There was even talk of retiring him.
Some two years later, Knicks Go is the 5-2 morning-line favorite in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic and the leading contender for Horse of the Year. It's been a remarkable transition, but not an inexplicable one. Under Cox, Knicks Go has been a horse allowed to use what is clearly his most potent weapon, his early speed.
“I think it has been huge,” Cox said of the change in tactics. “He's an aggressive horse who likes to go.”
He'll be asked to do it again Saturday in the Classic. Knicks Go is all but certain to go straight for the lead and if he wins, it will have meant that nobody could catch him.
After finishing a well-beaten third in the 2019 Arlington Washington Futurity, Knicks Go scored a stunning upset in the Breeders' Futurity at odds of 70-1. He won wire-to-wire that day, but reverted back to old habits in his next several starts. The Knicks Go who struggled throughout his 3-year-old year, going 0-for-8, was a horse that normally could be found stalking the early leaders. In the handful of races where he did go to the lead, he was never able to open up on the field early. After Knicks Go finished 10th in the GIII Commonwealth Turf S., his owners, the Korea Racing Authority, made the switch to Cox.
The trainer sensed early on that Knicks Go needed to be handled a certain way.
“I walked him off the van last night at 10:30 and he was pulling my guts out,” Cox said. “He's just a very aggressive horse. He's forward. He wants to go. He trains like that. He walks around the shedrow like that. He's really cool and laid back in the stall, but when he comes out of the stall, it's all go.”
Knicks Go made his debut for Cox last year in a Feb. 20 allowance race at Oaklawn. With Joe Talamo aboard, he shot to the early lead and drew off to win by 7 1/2 lengths. The horse that had struggled so often a year earlier was nowhere to be found. He's gone six for eight since, including a win in last year's GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and the GI Whitney S. His two losses came in the only one-turn races he has competed in for Cox. Joel Rosario has been the rider in each of his last eight starts.
“The biggest thing when it came to getting this horse right and getting his form back was just getting him into some races where he could get his confidence,” Cox said. “We needed to find out what he wanted to do. He's a horse who wants to be on the lead. I really think Rosario fits him well. When the rider holds him together and lets him tote them around there, he's able to run them off their feet. That's what he does.”
Cox has left no doubt what the strategy will be Saturday, but that doesn't mean that Knicks Go will have an easy time of things. The race is loaded with speed and, like Knicks Go, Medina Spirit (Protonico) is a horse who has been thriving on the lead. Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) and Art Collector (Bernardini) also have speed. Could there be a pace meltdown?
“I'm not worried about that,” Cox said. “I see Knicks Go breaking and probably having to be asked to establish position down the frontside. Then, hopefully, he can clear off going into the first turn. We'll see. I don't know what the game plan is for the other jocks and trainers. I'm not sure he can clear off, but hopefully he can. That would give him his best opportunity to win. They're going to be going quick. It just depends on how quick they are going and how much pressure he is getting when he goes quick.”
Riding Medina Spirit, John Velazquez will have some choices to make. If he goes after Knicks Go from the start that could prove to be a problem for both. If he allows Knicks Go to get away from him then Knicks Go probably won't get caught.
A rapid early pace could benefit Cox's other Classic starter, Essential Quality (Tapit). He is the second choice in the morning line and another Horse of the Year candidate. Max Player (Honor Code) is another who could benefit from a pace battle.
Then again, Knicks Go may just be too good and too fast for his rivals.
“That's just the way he runs,” Cox said. “That normally leads to the best result for him and for us. That's what we are going to do. We're going to send him away from there running and see how it works out.”
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