Knicks Go prevails in Breeders' Futurity stunner

Oct 06, 2018 Vance Hanson/Brisnet.com

Knicks Go produced pari-mutuel fireworks in Saturday's $500,000 Breeders' Futurity (G1) at Keeneland, a Road to the Kentucky Derby series prep and a 'Win & You're In' Breeders' Cup Challenge race for next month's Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) at Churchill Downs.

Starting as the longest shot in the field of 13, the 70-1 chance broke on top and led all the way under Albin Jimenez. Posting fractions of :23.67, :47.59, and 1:12.68, Knicks Go opened up on the field in the short stretch and won easily by 5 1/2 lengths in a time of 1:44.23 for 1 1/16 miles on a fast track.

Trained by Ben Colebrook, Knicks Go paid $142. Signalman finished second, Standard Deviation was third, and Sombeyay was fourth. The top four finishers earned Kentucky Derby qualifying points of 10-4-2-1, respectively.

A debut winner at Ellis Park on July 4 for owner KRA Stud Farm, Knicks Go was subsequently fifth to Sombeyay in the Sanford (G3) at Saratoga and a distant third in the Arlington-Washington Futurity at Arlington over Polytrack. The Maryland-bred gray son of Paynter was running with Lasix for the first time in the Breeders' Futurity.

'The horse trains real well here so that's kind of why we took a shot,' Colebrook said. 'He's always breezed like a good horse. His first race was good and then he never got in a rhythm in his next two.'

Bred by Angie Moore, Knicks Go was an $87,000 Keeneland September yearling. He's out of the multiple stakes-winning Kosmo's Buddy, by Outflanker.