World's best Knicks Go bids to bow out in style in Pegasus Cup showdown

Pegasus World Cup Invitational (Grade 1) | 1m1f | 4yo+ | dirt | SSR

Knicks Go, crowned the best horse in the world in 2021 this week, bids to end his career in perfect fashion by becoming the first back-to-back winner of the $3 million Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park on Saturday.

In his way stands the formidable Life Is Good, who may one day be given the title of World’s Best Racehorse himself having met with defeat in only one of his six starts.

As well as possessing significant ability, Knicks Go and Life Is Good like to lead in their races, as they did when capturing the Breeders’ Cup Classic and Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Del Mar in November.

Knicks Go was particularly impressive in showcasing his talents from the front when winning last year’s Pegasus World Cup, and Brad Cox, who trains the grey for the Korea Racing Authority, explained how the six-year-old is able to dominate from the front.

“He runs the turns well, he can kind of clear off on the first turn. He bounces on that left lead going into the turn and creates some separation on the first turn,” Cox said. “And on the far turn, he just puts them away.

“I think from the half-mile pole to the three-eighths pole, he gets a little distance. The jockeys on the other horses have to go into chase mode and by the time they get to the quarter-pole, he’s still kind of cruising along. They can’t catch him.”

Life Is Good: Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner reported in fine formCredit: Edward Whitaker

Cox’s confidence in his horse is matched by Todd Pletcher in Life Is Good, who is stretching out to 1m1f for the first time in his career. The two stars stand head and shoulders above the seven other runners in the contest.

“We’re very, very happy with him,” Pletcher said. “I love the way he’s settled in here. He’s been really training well, but also a little more relaxed.

“He couldn’t have worked any better but he’s always been such an exceptional work horse that I guess anything other than exceptional would be concerning. He seems to be every bit as good, or better, than he was going into the Breeders’ Cup.”

Pletcher is also represented in the $1m Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational by Colonel Liam and Never Surprised. Their opponents include Space Traveller, a Group 2 winner for Richard Fahey running for trainer Brendan Walsh and owner Steve Parkin of Clipper Logistics.

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