Knicks Go preps for Sam F. Davis with 'serious work'
Pelting rain, strong winds and temperatures in the 40s turned Sunday’s Tampa Bay Downs program into an endurance challenge, but the release of the nominations lists for the lucrative Feb. 9 Festival Preview Day Presented by Lambholm South card ensures “better days are coming.”
A stakes-laden card highlighted by the Grade 3, $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes for 3-year-old Triple Crown hopefuls is expected to draw many top Thoroughbreds in training. The mile-and-a-sixteenth Sam F. Davis is a Road to the Kentucky Derby points race, with the top four finishers being awarded points on a 10-4-2-1 scale toward qualifying for the 145th Run for the Roses on May 4 at Churchill Downs.
The 39th edition of the Sam F. Davis attracted 43 nominations, headed by the attractive gray colt Knicks Go. He won the Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity (G1) on Oct. 6 at Keeneland and finished second to Game Winner in the Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Nov. 2 at Churchill Downs.
He finished off the board last out in the Nov. 24 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) over a sloppy Churchill Downs surface.
Knicks Go breezed five furlongs at Tampa Saturday in 58 2/5 seconds with veteran jockey Jesse Garcia aboard. The workout was a “bullet,” meaning it was the fastest of 39 at the distance Saturday.
“It probably was a little faster than we planned,” trainer Ben Colebrook said, “but (Garcia) is a light rider and Knicks Go did it really easy. He finished up with good energy and galloped out strong. We had given him some time off after his last start and he had put on some weight since, so he needed a serious work.
“He was savaging his feed tub later on and happy this morning. This was the big work, but we’ll give him an easier half-mile next week and hopefully be ready for the Sam F. Davis. He is easy to train, he tries hard every time and he is a pleasure to be around.”
The previous Saturday, Knicks Go breezed four furlongs in 47 seconds flat, the fastest of 72 half-mile efforts that day.
Knicks Go is owned by KRA Stud Farm and is ridden in his races by Albin Jimenez.
Other intriguing Sam F. Davis nominees include Saratoga Special (G2) winner Call Paul and impressive Pasco Stakes winner Win Win Win.
Festival Preview Day Presented by Lambholm South includes a pair of Grade 3 turf stakes: the $175,000 Tampa Bay Stakes for horses 4-years-old-and-upward and the $175,000 Lambholm South Endeavour for fillies and mares 4-years-old-and-upward. Both are contested at a distance of a mile-and-a-sixteenth.
The $150,000 Suncoast Stakes, for 3-year-old fillies at a distance of a mile-and-40 yards on the main track, is a Road to the Kentucky Oaks points race, awarding 10-4-2-1 points to the first four finishers.