Completely ignored at 70-1 in Keeneland's GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity Saturday, KRA Stud Farm's Knicks Go (Paynter) and rider Albin Jimenez pulled off a front-running theft while securing a spot in the starting gate for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile next month. Met with no resistance as he pulled clear by better than a length down the backside, the Ben Colebrook trainee was still traveling comfortably through six panels in 1:12.68. He hit another gear and opened further in the vicinity of the quarter pole, and none of his foes did enough to ever chip away at the leader's advantage as he spurted clear by 5 1/2 lengths while becoming the first graded winner for second-crop sire Paynter (Awesome Again). Signalman (General Quarters) completed a $1377.80 exacta, while Standard Deviation (Curlin) made a nice run from far back to be third.
Saturday, Keeneland
CLAIBORNE BREEDERS' FUTURITY-GI, $500,000, Keeneland, 10-6, 2yo, 1 1/16m, 1:44.23, ft.
1–KNICKS GO, 121, c, 2, by Paynter
1st Dam: Kosmo's Buddy (MSW, $298,095), by Outflanker
2nd Dam: Vaulted, by Allen's Prospect
3rd Dam: Aube d'Or, by Medaille d'Or
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST GRADE I
WIN. ($40,000 Wlg '16 KEENOV; $87,000 Ylg '17 KEESEP).
O-KRA Stud Farm; B-Angie Moore (MD); T-Ben Colebrook;
J-Albin Jimenez. $300,000. Lifetime Record: 4-2-0-1, $330,515.
*First graded winner/Grade I winner for sire (by Awesome
Again). Werk Nick Rating: D. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.[bullet ad=”bill-reightler-sales-double”][bullet ad=”de-meric-stables-grad”][bullet ad=”woodsedgefarm-grad”][bullet ad=”winstar-win-80000″][bullet ad=”maryland-shell”]2–Signalman, 121, c, 2, General Quarters–Trip South, by Trippi.
($32,000 Ylg '17 FTKOCT). O-Tommie M. Lewis & Magdalena
Racing (Sherri McPeek); B-Monticule (KY); T-Kenneth G.
McPeek. $100,000. [bullet ad=”equix-optimatch”][bullet ad=”legacy-monticule-mcpeek-lewis”]3–Standard Deviation, 121, c, 2, Curlin–False Impression, by
A.P. Indy. ($450,000 Ylg '17 KEESEP). O-Klaravich Stables, Inc.;
B-KatieRich Farms (KY); T-Chad C. Brown. $50,000.[bullet ad=”stonestreet-trainingalum”]Margins: 5HF, 3/4, 1HF. Odds: 70.00, 10.00, 4.00.
Also Ran: Sombeyay, Derby Date, Mr. Ankeny, Fluminense, Everfast, Tobacco Road, Moonster, Borracho, Dream Maker, Unionizer. Scratched: Mind Control. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
A 3 1/2-length debut winner going five furlongs at Ellis on July 4, Knicks Go traveled up to Saratoga for the GIII Sanford S. just 17 days later, but checked in fifth behind Breeders' Futurity fourth Sombeyay (Into Mischief). He was most recently third in the Sept. 8 Arlington-Washington Futurity behind this week's Fitz Dixon, Jr. Memorial Juvenile S. winner Big Drink of Water (Soldat).
“[We] just got lucky,” said Colebrook, who was arguably unlucky on Friday when Limousine Liberal (Successful Appeal) had to settle for third in the GIII Phoenix S. after a traffic-filled trip. “The horse trains real well here, so that's kind of why we took a shot. 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.”
The conditioner continued, “Albin just stole it really. They didn't give him any respect and he got out there and just got to gallop. I could see [Knicks Go] on the backside, his ears were just going. I could tell he was going to run big. But I didn't think he was going to run that big. It was just amazing.”
Pedigree Notes:
Knicks Go is the first graded winner, and therefore Grade I winner, for his young sire (by Awesome Again). His dam was a multiple stakes-winning turf sprinter who was claimed for $40,000 out of her penultimate start. She has a yearling colt by Orb and a weanling colt by Broken Vow.
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