05 February 2021

Knicks Go poised for Saudi Cup duty

05 February 2021

Brad Cox has given Knicks Go the green light for the $20million Saudi Cup and should that adventure go well he will then head on to Dubai.

The Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner followed up in the Pegasus World Cup – and Cox now has his sights set further afield.

He told www.thoroughbreddailynews.com: “As long as he breezes well this weekend, we’re going to the Saudi Cup. We plan to ship him out Monday.

“The owners (Korea Racing Authority) would like to go to the Saudi Cup and they’ve made that clear. I looked for a reason not to run him back in four weeks and he’s given me no indication that would not be a good idea.

“That’s why I’ve said I want to see him breeze one more time before we put him on a plane. He really rebounded from the Pegasus in great shape and in good order. He’s not giving me any reason to not run him, so we’re going to press forward.”

Knicks Go is likely to meet Bob Baffert’s Charlatan, a dual Grade One winner himself.

“It will be a good match-up between those two,” said Cox said.

“Our horse does have to make the adjustment back to one turn and we don’t know how he will handle that. I do like that he handled not having any Lasix at Gulfstream just fine. That’s a positive and one thing we have going for us. He’s in great form right now and, hopefully, we can keep him that way.”

Cox added a short flight to Meydan for the Dubai World Cup is “definitely under consideration”, should all go well in Saudi Arabia.

The best videos delivered daily

Watch the stories that matter, right from your inbox