Breeders' Cup is next for Lukas winner Knicks Go

Louisville, Ky.

The one-two punch that trainer Brad Cox takes to the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic next month at Del Mar looks ready to go. Essential Quality was already on his way. After Saturday’s four-length victory in the Grade 3, $400,000 Lukas Classic, the same may be said of Knicks Go.

“That’s exactly what we were looking for,” Cox said after Knicks Go won a two-turn dirt race for the seventh time in a row. “There was a little bit of a concern that he had never won here at Churchill. He put it all together today.”

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Actually, there was little doubt Knicks Go (1-10) was going to get off his 0-for-4 schneid under the twin spires. Taken quickly to the lead by jockey Joel Rosario, the 5-year-old Paynter horse just kept extending his lead. Even though he was well in hand in the stretch, his winning time of 1:47.85 for the 1 1/8 miles the fast surface was only 0.57 seconds off the track record of 1:47.28 established 22 years ago by Victory Gallop.

“He seemed comfortable, just nice and easy,” said Rosario, who had Knicks Go drifting some in the stretch before straightening at the end. “I kind of got off the rail a little bit to get him in control there. He seemed like he was OK with that. I was just trying to figure out what he wanted to do.”

With a few sprinkles of rain on a still, 80-degree afternoon, Knicks Go set early fractions of 23.53, 47.27, 1:10.90 and 1:35.16. He never led by fewer than 1 1/2 lengths at any call.

The widening lead certainly pleased Cox, who will ask Knicks Go, a four-time Grade 1 winner, to try something next month that he has never done before. That is to race 1 1/4 miles.

“I like the idea of the mile-and-a-quarter at Del Mar,” Cox said. “I think his speed is deadly at a mile-and-an-eighth and beyond on the dirt, the turf, anything. Speed is great. I expect that as long as he doesn’t stump his toe at Del Mar, he’ll be tough.”

Independence Hall (10-1) stalked the early pace Saturday and finished second. Shared Sense (27-1), also from the Cox barn, made a strong close to finish third, 5 1/2 lengths behind Knicks Go. Tacitus (6-1) was another head behind in fourth followed by Chess Chief (44-1) and finally Sprawl (18-1).

Knicks Go came into the weekend as the 3-1 futures favorite at the Costa Rica-based bookmaker Bovada to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Essential Quality, who is training up to the Nov. 6 race at Del Mar, was the second choice at 4-1 before betting was routinely suspended while races were being run Saturday.

Since he won last out in the Travers (G1) at 1 1/4 miles nearly three months after winning the Belmont Stakes at 1 1/2 miles, Essential Quality was already a proven commodity at the distance, so Cox did not feel any urgency to give him an extra prep.

“We felt like we probably needed a prep with Knicks Go, because he’s a little bit of the unknown at a mile-and-a-quarter,” Cox said. “We know Essential Quality can get the mile-and-a-quarter. That’s not a question. That had a lot to do with him just freshening and training up to the Breeders’ Cup.”

It was only three years ago when Cox got his first Breeders’ Cup victory with the now-retired Monomoy Girl in the Distaff. He added two in 2019 and four last year on his way to becoming the Eclipse Award-winning trainer for 2020. Having the two shortest-priced horses in America’s richest race is still pretty heady for him.

“We’ve never really been a factor in the Classic,” Cox said. “We’ve had one runner in it before (Owendale, 10th in 2019). It’s a goal of ours, and it’s great to be in that position, for sure.”

Cox is not even blanching at the prospect of having two of his horses going against each other in the names of two rival owners – Korea Racing Authority (Knicks Go) and Godolphin (Essential Quality).

“They shouldn’t get in each other’s way,” he said. “We have the best of both worlds in a horse that has speed, and ‘Essential’ can place himself in a good spot wherever he’s comfortable running.”

Even if he will not allow himself to feel complacent having two such talented racehorses, Cox is aware of what it takes to succeed at such a high level in the fall.

“We had a great Breeders’ Cup last year,” he said. “Hopefully we can build off of that. It’s going to be hard.”