The gates fly open for the $6m Longines Breeder’s Cup Classic, and 1-59.57sec later its Knicks Go who is the 38th Breeders’ Cup World Championships hero.
In now vying for Horse of The Year honours, Knicks Go seemed to be un-challenged early, and it was his ‘two-turn’ speed that resulted in 2¾ lengths win for Joel Rosario and trainer Brad Cox.
In defeating the best 3yo’s in Medina Spirit, Essential Quality and Hot Rod Charlie, it’s the Big Ass Fans Dirt Mile winner Life Is Good who could be his main opponent in the Pegasus World Cup.
Now a ‘good pick-up race’ before stud duties, or a $20m Saudi Cup ‘win you’re in,’ it’s the Korea Racing Authority who are looking for repeat Pegasus victories, or direct to Taylor Made Farm.
In being a Breeders’ World Championship, it was Angie Moore and daughter Sabrina who bred the grey Knicks Go at GreenMount Farm in Reisterstown, Maryland, being foaled 29 Jan. 2016.
With Knicks Go being all the talk, it’s definitely the introduction of the Thoroughbred Safety Coalition that has lifted industry confidence world-wide with Japan having its first Breeders’ winners.
It’s the Coalition in ‘putting safety first for every horse, every race, every time’ that sees the phasing of Lasix that brings the US in-line internationally, with the Japanese saying Lasix is cheating.
Furthermore, ‘ensuring the well-being of horses and jockeys, increase accountability and to promote a culture of safety in our sport’ that the Breeders’ Cup ‘ensures the health of its athletes.’
In the Breeders’ Cup Japan-based representative Kate Hunter managing seven entries this year, who experienced that COVID was no hindrance, and the West Coast easier to travel from Japan.
With the 10 length 2yo maiden winner Jasper Great being unplaced in the TVG Juvenile at 1m½f, it was Loves Only You who scored first for Japan in the Maker’s Mark Filly and Mare Turf of 1m3f.
In tracking the leaders for the majority of the race, the highly confident Yuga Kawada gained the lead on Loves Only You at the 50m, to score by ½ length in 2-13.87sec for trainer Yoshito Yahagi.
Three races later it was Yashito Yahagi again, in scoring a hard-fought nose victory with his long-shot Marche Lorraine in the Longines Distaff of 1m1f on dirt, ridden by Irishman Oisin Murphy.
In both being bred by Northern Farm, the 5yo mare Loves Only You is by the legendary Deep Impact, with the 5yo mare Marche Lorraine by champion sire Orfevre, and owned by Carrot Farm.
A native of Nashville in Tennessee, Kate Hunter has ‘built a rail road, with America being kind of the wild-west of racing’ with Hideyuki Mori having seven entries since 2019, and the first in 2000.
In moving to Japan 13 years ago, and with the Breeders’ Cup for five years, the spotlight falls on Kate with the ‘Breeders’ Cup reaching out to Japan and their horses competing on dirt and turf.’
The UAE home-based Godolphin departed the Breeders’ Cup as leading Owner and Breeder, with their trainer Charlie Appleby having three wins, and all ridden by stable jockey William Buick.
In all three being sired by Dubawi, is was Modern Games who took out the Juvenile Turf, in having been first withdrawn in error, Space Blues the FanDuel Turf Mile and Yibir the Longines Turf.
In association with the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar the Niarchos Family received the 2021 Longines IFHA International Award of Merit, that recognises distinguished horsemen and horsewomen for lifelong contributions to Thoroughbred racing.
In Maria Niarchos-Gouazé accepting the award, the Niarchos Family now joins John Messara of Arrowfield Stud, the Magnier Family and Aidan O’Brien of Coolmore and Ballydoyle Racing Stable, the Japanese jockey Yutaka Take and the Romanet Family of French as recent winners.
