Knicks Go is back, and more: The week in social media

by Chelsea Lowman | Feb 29, 2020 | Breaking, Business, Regionwide, Top Stories

Knicks Go selling as a weanling. Photo courtesy of Sabrina Moore.

Knicks Go returned to winning form over the weekend, and the racing world lost a legend.

Here is the 411 on what racing fans in the Mid-Atlantic region have been talking about on social media over the past week:

Knicks Go does

Knicks Go, a Maryland-bred gelding who won over the hearts of the public in 2018 by pulling off a stunning upset in the Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity (G1) at odds of 70-1, returned to winning form over the past weekend.

After ten consecutive losses following his brilliant score in the Breeders’ Futurity, Knicks Go finally found his winning stride again. With jockey Joe Talamo in the pilot seat, Knicks Go gunned it to the front of the pack in the allowance optional claiming race at Oaklawn Park and never looked back. After breezing through the half mile mark in :46.89, Knicks Go charged into the stretch in full command, drawing off to win by 7 ½ lengths. The 1 1/16-mile test was completed in a sharp final time of 1:42.57 on the fast-main track, which was a current meet-best for races performed at that distance.

Bred by Angie and Sabrina Moore, Knicks Go is owned by Korea Racing Authority and is trained by Brad Cox, who acquired the gray gelding to his stable late last year. Future plans for the four-year-old son of Paynter have not yet been set in stone. However, Cox has stated that he plans on nominating Knicks Go to the $350,000 Essex Handicap at Oaklawn Park, which will be run on March 14. The Essex Handicap serves as a prep race for the $1 million Oaklawn Handicap (G2) that will be run on April 18.

To date, Knicks Go has a record of three wins from fifteen starts, and career earnings of $793,355.

A. P. Indy passes

Major news broke in the world of thoroughbred horse racing this week, when it was announced that influential sire A.P. Indy had passed away.

Racing legend and leading sire A.P. Indy was found dead on February 21 at Lanes End Farm near Versailles, Ky. At the ripe old age of 31, the stallion had passed away peacefully due to the infirmities of old age.

A son of 1977 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew, A.P. Indy was a success on the track. The bay horse won eight of his eleven races, including emphatic scores in the 1992 Belmont Stakes (G1) and Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1). Along with those major scores, A.P. Indy claimed four other graded stakes races. On the track, A.P. Indy banked earnings of $2,979,815.

In 1992, A.P. Indy earned the coveted title of Champion Three-Year-Old Colt and Horse of the Year and was later inducted into racing’s Hall of Fame in the year 2000. While A.P. Indy proved to be a dominant force on the track, it was the breeding shed where the stallion found his true calling. During his career at stud, A.P. Indy was named as the leading sire in North America in 2003 and 2006, the leading broodmare sire in 2015, and was repeatedly among the leaders on both lists on several different occasions.

A.P. Indy retired from breeding in 2011 and remained at Lane’s End Farm where he had previously stood. Notable offspring sired by the stallion include Preakness winner Bernardini; Horse of the Year Mineshaft; Rags to Riches, the filly who beat the boys in a thrilling 2007 Belmont Stakes; multiple graded stakes winner Honor Code; and two-time Canadian champion Marchfield, just to name a few.

Today there are 29 sons of A.P. Indy standing at stud. While the loss of such a prominent influence on the sport will be heavily felt, it is safe to say that the legacy of A.P. Indy will live on indefinitely through his many sons and daughters that the sport has today.