Knicks Go (USA)
January 29, 2016 – Living
Paynter (USA) x Kosmo’s Buddy (USA), by Outflanker (USA)
Family 1-w
January 29, 2016 – Living
Paynter (USA) x Kosmo’s Buddy (USA), by Outflanker (USA)
Family 1-w
After winning the 2018 Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity (USA-G1) at 70-1 odds, Knicks Go entered a 10-race losing streak that did not end until he was transferred to the barn of trainer Brad Cox in 2020. His turnaround was dramatic, although slowed somewhat by his having to miss much of the 2020 season due to surgery for bone chips. The winner of the 2020 Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (USA-G1) and 2021 Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (USA-G1), he could do no better than fourth in the 2021 Saudi Cup (KSA-G1) but won four more graded stakes in the United States that year, including two more at the Grade 1 level. His dominating performance in the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Classic (USA-G1) topped the year’s Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings and lifted him to an Eclipse Award as American Horse of the Year. Kept in training for an attempt at a repeat win in the Pegasus World Cup (USA-G1), he was outrun by Life Is Good before entering stud in Kentucky at Taylor Made Farm.
Race record
25 starts, 10 wins, 4 seconds, 1 third, US$9,258,135
2018:
2019:
2020:
2021:
2022:
Honors
Assessments
Rated at 119 pounds in the Mile category on the 2020 Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings, 11 pounds below overall highweight Ghaiyyath and 7 pounds below the top dirt horse, American Horse of the Year Authentic. Knicks Go was also 6 pounds below Mile category leaders Palace Pier and Persian King.
Highweighted at 129 pounds on the 2021 Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings, where he topped both the overall standings and the Intermediate category at 129 pounds; he was 2 pounds above his nearest rivals for both. He was also the co-highweight at 125 pounds in the Mile category, tied with turf milers Baaeed, Golden Sixty, and Palace Pier and 1 pound above the second-rated dirt miler, Life Is Good.
As an individual
A handsome, well-made gray horse (officially registered as gray or roan) with a lot of energy, Knicks Go was aggressive in his training and racing and typically won his races by seizing the early lead and setting a strong pace from start to finish. He walked with an overstride of about a foot, a trait he shared with champions such as Round Table and Idun. He was an excellent doer with a big appetite, leading trainer Brad Cox to say, "This horse would eat rocks if you gave them to him."
As a stallion
Knicks Go entered stud in Kentucky in 2022 at Taylor Made Farm. His first foal is a filly out of the Pioneerof the Nile mare Seeking a Star, foaled January 12, 2023.
Connections
Foaled at GreenMount Farm in Maryland, Knicks Go was bred by Angie Moore, who sold him for US$40,000 as a weanling at the 2016 Keeneland November mixed sale. The horse raced for the Korean Racing Authority, which purchased him for US$87,000 from the 2017 Keeneland September yearling sale. Knicks Go was originally trained by Ben Colebrook, moving to the barn of Brad Cox in 2020. He was ridden to his triumphs in the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and 2021 Breeders’ Cup Classic by Joel Rosario. Knicks Go entered stud in Kentucky in 2022 at Taylor Made Farm.
Pedigree notes
Sired by 2012 Haskell Invitational Stakes (USA-G1) winner Paynter (by Awesome Again), Knicks Go is inbred 5x4 to the great sires Northern Dancer and Mr. Prospector. He is out of multiple stakes winner Kosmo’s Buddy, a mare that Angie Moore claimed for her family’s GreenMount Farm for US$40,000 in 2009.
A smallish (15.3 hands), light-framed mare who found her niche as a hard-knocking turf sprinter, Kosmo’s Buddy is by the Danzig horse Outflanker out of Vaulted, a multiple stakes-placed daughter of the good Maryland sire Allen’s Prospect (by Mr. Prospector). Produced from Aube d’Or (by 1978 Canadian champion 2-year-old male Medaille d’Or, by Secretariat), Vaulted is a half sister to Golden Madam (by Shelter Half), dam of multiple stakes winner Yaletown (by Chief Honcho) and of Ghost Valley (by Valley Crossing), a stakes winner in timber racing. Vaulted is also a half sister to My Sweet Caroline (by Salt Lake), dam of multiple listed stakes winner Sweet Cassiopeia (by Five Star Day).
A stakes winner at 3, Aube d’Or is a half sister to 1990 Matriarch Stakes (USA-G1) winner Countus In (by Dancing Count), dam of Grade 3 winner Think Red (by Red Ransom) and Grade 3-placed restricted stakes winner Count to Three (by Red Ransom) and second dam of two-time Bing Crosby Stakes (USA-G1) winner Ransom the Moon, Grade 2 winner Count Again, and Peruvian Group 3 winner Paijan. Produced from Cloudy and Warm (by 1972 Dwyer Handicap winner Cloudy Dawn), Aube d’Or is also a half sister to multiple stakes winner Tulindas (by Shelter Half).
Books and media
Footage of Knicks Go’s wins in the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and 2021 Breeders’ Cup Classic can be accessed at the Breeders’ Cup Hall of Champions (https://www.breederscup.com/history-tradition/hall-champions/knicks-go).
Fun facts
Last updated: January 15, 2023
Race record
25 starts, 10 wins, 4 seconds, 1 third, US$9,258,135
2018:
- Won Claiborne Breeders' Futurity (USA-G1, 8.5FD, Keeneland)
- 2nd Sentient Jets Breeders' Cup Juvenile (USA-G1, 8.5FD, Churchill Downs)
- 3rd Arlington-Washington Futurity (USA-L, 7FA, Arlington Park)
2019:
- 2nd Ellis Park Derby (USA, 8FD, Ellis Park)
2020:
- Won Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (USA-G1, 8FD, Keeneland; new track record 1:33.85)
- Also set a new track record of 1:40.79 for 8.5FD at Keeneland
2021:
- Won Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (USA-G1, 10FD, Del Mar)
- Won Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (USA-G1, 9FD, Gulfstream Park)
- Won Whitney Stakes (USA-G1, 9FD. Saratoga)
- Won Lukas Classic Stakes (USA-G3, 9FD, Churchill Downs)
- Won Prairie Meadows Cornhusker H.andicap(USA-G3, 9FD, Prairie Meadows)
2022:
- 2nd Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes Presented by 1/ST BET (USA-G1, 9FD, Gulfstream Park)
Honors
- Eclipse Award, American Horse of the Year (2021)
- Eclipse Award, American champion older dirt male (2021)
- Top Mid-Atlantic Bred (2020)
- Maryland-bred Horse of the Year (2020, 2021)
- Maryland-bred champion older male (2020, 2021)
Assessments
Rated at 119 pounds in the Mile category on the 2020 Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings, 11 pounds below overall highweight Ghaiyyath and 7 pounds below the top dirt horse, American Horse of the Year Authentic. Knicks Go was also 6 pounds below Mile category leaders Palace Pier and Persian King.
Highweighted at 129 pounds on the 2021 Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings, where he topped both the overall standings and the Intermediate category at 129 pounds; he was 2 pounds above his nearest rivals for both. He was also the co-highweight at 125 pounds in the Mile category, tied with turf milers Baaeed, Golden Sixty, and Palace Pier and 1 pound above the second-rated dirt miler, Life Is Good.
As an individual
A handsome, well-made gray horse (officially registered as gray or roan) with a lot of energy, Knicks Go was aggressive in his training and racing and typically won his races by seizing the early lead and setting a strong pace from start to finish. He walked with an overstride of about a foot, a trait he shared with champions such as Round Table and Idun. He was an excellent doer with a big appetite, leading trainer Brad Cox to say, "This horse would eat rocks if you gave them to him."
As a stallion
Knicks Go entered stud in Kentucky in 2022 at Taylor Made Farm. His first foal is a filly out of the Pioneerof the Nile mare Seeking a Star, foaled January 12, 2023.
Connections
Foaled at GreenMount Farm in Maryland, Knicks Go was bred by Angie Moore, who sold him for US$40,000 as a weanling at the 2016 Keeneland November mixed sale. The horse raced for the Korean Racing Authority, which purchased him for US$87,000 from the 2017 Keeneland September yearling sale. Knicks Go was originally trained by Ben Colebrook, moving to the barn of Brad Cox in 2020. He was ridden to his triumphs in the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and 2021 Breeders’ Cup Classic by Joel Rosario. Knicks Go entered stud in Kentucky in 2022 at Taylor Made Farm.
Pedigree notes
Sired by 2012 Haskell Invitational Stakes (USA-G1) winner Paynter (by Awesome Again), Knicks Go is inbred 5x4 to the great sires Northern Dancer and Mr. Prospector. He is out of multiple stakes winner Kosmo’s Buddy, a mare that Angie Moore claimed for her family’s GreenMount Farm for US$40,000 in 2009.
A smallish (15.3 hands), light-framed mare who found her niche as a hard-knocking turf sprinter, Kosmo’s Buddy is by the Danzig horse Outflanker out of Vaulted, a multiple stakes-placed daughter of the good Maryland sire Allen’s Prospect (by Mr. Prospector). Produced from Aube d’Or (by 1978 Canadian champion 2-year-old male Medaille d’Or, by Secretariat), Vaulted is a half sister to Golden Madam (by Shelter Half), dam of multiple stakes winner Yaletown (by Chief Honcho) and of Ghost Valley (by Valley Crossing), a stakes winner in timber racing. Vaulted is also a half sister to My Sweet Caroline (by Salt Lake), dam of multiple listed stakes winner Sweet Cassiopeia (by Five Star Day).
A stakes winner at 3, Aube d’Or is a half sister to 1990 Matriarch Stakes (USA-G1) winner Countus In (by Dancing Count), dam of Grade 3 winner Think Red (by Red Ransom) and Grade 3-placed restricted stakes winner Count to Three (by Red Ransom) and second dam of two-time Bing Crosby Stakes (USA-G1) winner Ransom the Moon, Grade 2 winner Count Again, and Peruvian Group 3 winner Paijan. Produced from Cloudy and Warm (by 1972 Dwyer Handicap winner Cloudy Dawn), Aube d’Or is also a half sister to multiple stakes winner Tulindas (by Shelter Half).
Books and media
Footage of Knicks Go’s wins in the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and 2021 Breeders’ Cup Classic can be accessed at the Breeders’ Cup Hall of Champions (https://www.breederscup.com/history-tradition/hall-champions/knicks-go).
Fun facts
- Knicks Go gets his name from a nicking system (K-Nicks) used by the Korean Racing Authority for evaluating pedigree crosses.
- Knicks Go became the fifth Maryland-bred horse to win a Breeders’ Cup race with his win in the 2020 Dirt Mile. He was the first Maryland-bred horse to win American Horse of the Year honors since Cigar in 1995 and 1996.
- Knicks Go is the sixth horse to have won two different Breeders’ Cup races.
- Knicks Go was named the honorary Preakness Postmaster for the 2022 Preakness Stakes (USA-G1). The Postmaster has the duty of overseeing the temporary post office set up at Pimlico during the week of the Preakness.
Last updated: January 15, 2023