'No fluke,' Knicks Go presses on to Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes

Knicks Go has outperformed his long odds in his last two starts, and trainer Ben Colebrook expects the colt's price in Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs to reflect that.

KRA Stud Farm’s colt shocked Keeneland’s Breeders’ Futurity (G1) when he wired the field at 70-1. He was then off at 40-1 on the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile when second to the favorite and likely 2-year-old champion Game Winner. 

“I don’t think he’ll be 40-1 on Saturday," Colebrooke said. "The (Breeder’s Futurity), he should have been a longshot. 70-1 was probably a bit much, but he had on paper what looked to be two bad races. But in our eyes, we knew why had had run kind of subpar races, so we were just looking forward to running him two turns which we thought he had wanted to do at his home track that he trained very well on."

After winning on debut at Ellis Park, Knicks Go ran fifth in Saratoga's Sanford Stakes (G3) and third in the Arlington-Washington Futurity. Colebrook said previously the Sanford may have come too quick after the colt’s debut and he didn’t seem to like the polytrack at Arlington. Those two performances led to the long odds.

“As far as the Breeders’ Cup, I think people probably viewed the Breeders’ Futurity as a little bit of a fluke race because he got such an easy lead and nobody closed,” Colebrook said. “The short stretch at Keeneland, speed is kind of a tactical advantage. It kind of did look like a fluke race, but then he backed it up in the Breeders’ Cup.”

As with Knicks Go's past two races, the Kentucky Jockey Club will run at 1 1/16 miles. The race awards points on a 10-4-2-1 basis toward qualifying for the 2019 Kentucky Derby. Knicks Go already has 18 points from the Breeders’ Futurity and Breeders’ Cup, ranking him second behind Game Winner.

Should all go well, Knicks Go is expected to return on the Derby trail at Tampa Bay Downs, which hosts the Sam F. Davis Stakes (G3) and Tampa Bay Derby (G2). A ultimate goal is the Blue Grass Stakes (G2) back at Keeneland.

“The Blue Grass, that’s our target. Obviously, he likes Keeneland, it’s home for us, so the Blue Grass is a big deal for us.” 

Colebrook is undecided if Knicks Go will run in all three Kentucky Derby preps but feels the Maryland-bred son of Paynter is a horse that could handle each.

KRA Stud Farm purchased Knicks Go for $87,000 at the Keeneland September Sale. After buying him back at the OBS April Sale, KRA sent him to Colebrook. With his Grade 1 win and Breeders’ Cup performance, he’s earned $670,515.

“I think now people are realizing he’s no fluke,” he said. “He’s a good horse and we’ll just have to see, but he’s got a nice style. He can be on the lead or he can sit off a horse and still be able to finish. I think he’s a neat horse to have in the barn.”