Two-year-old filly Ziggity Zag made her career debut a winning one, taking a maiden special weight at Horseshoe Indianapolis on Tuesday and becoming the first winner for Taylor Made Stallions’ Knicks Go, Horse of the Year and Champion Older Male of 2021.
Ridden in the 7 ½-furlong turf fixture by Nik Juarez, Ziggity Zag tracked the pace in hand from along the inside in the early stages. The gray or roan filly swung out to the clear with a quarter mile to go and ran down the pacesetter with a determined rally to prevail at the wire.
Owned by Flying Dutchman Breeding and Racing and trained by Brian Lynch, Ziggity Zag was bred in Kentucky by Boardshorts Stables LLC, and she is out of the winning Creative Cause mare Lounge Act.
With a blend of speed and stamina, Knicks Go was in a class by himself as a racehorse. Ranked as Longines World’s Best Racehorse of 2021, Knicks Go, who recorded eight triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures in his racing career, is a two-time record setter and a Grade 1 winner at two, four, and five. He was an impressive wire-to-wire winner of the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) at Del Mar, completing the 1 1/4 miles in 1:59.57, just two clicks off the 18-year-old track record set by Candy Ride (ARG). Knicks Go earned a Beyer of 112 in the Classic, the fastest figure of the 2021 Breeders’ Cup. He also captured the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. (G1), earning a 108 Beyer while scoring by 2 ¾ lengths, and he proved uncatchable in winning the historic Whitney S. (G1) at Saratoga by 4 ½ lengths with a 111 Beyer.
Knicks Go is the fastest miler in Keeneland history, winning the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) in the track-record time of 1:33.85. He also established a new standard in his prep for the Dirt Mile, winning a Keeneland allowance race at 1 1/16 miles by a romping 10 ¼ lengths in the fast time of 1:40.79. While he was a leader in the handicap division, Knicks Go was also precocious. He broke his maiden on debut in July of his 2-year-old season and went on to win that year’s Breeders’ Futurity (G1) at Keeneland, scoring by 5 ½ lengths. All told in a sensational racing career, Knicks Go amassed earnings of $9,258,135.
In the auction ring this year, Knicks Go’s 2-year-olds have commanded plenty of attention. His top selling juvenile this year was a $585,000 colt at the OBS Spring Sale. Now named Ewing, the colt was bought by D.J. Stable and West Point Thoroughbreds out of the Hidden Brook consignment. For more information on Knicks Go, contact Travis White at (859) 396-3508, or Brock Martin at (270) 498-3722, or visit www.taylormadestallions.com.
