November 8, 2021 
What turned out to be a slam dunk began as a what-if as a stellar eight-horse field lined up in Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) at Del Mar.
The storyline posed a number of questions, the answers to which would likely determine this year’s Eclipse Award Champion Horse of the Year along with other divisional winners.
Would Godolphin’s Essential Quality make his final race before retirement a memorable one? Could Knicks Go escape the field after darting to the front as is his usual plan? Would Medina Spirit vex Eclipse voters by doubling down with a classy Classic victory on top of his still unresolved Kentucky Derby “win”? Could Hot Rod Charlie find enough gas to motor first to the finish in the long mile-and-a-quarter?
Finally, should the males falter, could female phenom Letruska prove she is the fairest of them all by winning the Distaff?
It’s not unusual for Eclipse Award candidates to make a compelling case for Horse of the Year on Breeders’ Cup Championship Saturday. It is unusual for there to be so many worthy candidates.
Most of the interest understandably revolved around two races, the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) for horses aged three years and older, and the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) for fillies and mares.
After 1:59.57, just .46 off the Del Mar track record set by Candy Ride in 2003 for the classic distance, Knicks Go would obliterate his opponents’ HOY chances. The swift five-year-old gray’s 2 3/4-length statement on a fast, firm track was a near carbon copy of Authentic’s Classic victory last year at Keeneland. Too, Knicks Go ran off with the win carrying the heavy weight of 126 as an older horse and stretching out to 10 furlongs for the first time.
The victory boosted Knicks Go’s record to 24:10-3-1 and fattened his wallet to $8,673,135.
A rested, revitalized Medina Spirit held on for second and Essential Quality rallied for third after a slow start, a brush out of the gate by the winner and being trapped in mid-pack through much of the race.
Now that we know the outcome, it’s worth a little Monday-morning handicapping to understand how it happened.
Knicks Go entered gate 5 in the Classic as the bettors’ second choice. Trained by Brad Cox, the Maryland-bred gray son of Paynter (out of Kosmo’s Buddy by Outflanker) routinely uses pure speed to bolt to the front and attempt to wire the field…and every trainer and jockey knows it. The way to defeat this strategy is to pressure early to force a speed horse to tire and fade.
That response by any one of Knicks Go’s opponents never happened. Was Cox surprised?
“I didn’t really know what the tactics from the other trainers and jockeys would be,” he claimed. “I kind of felt if they did try to go with him, they would jeopardize their own opportunity to win the race.”
But by not challenging, the field “let Knicks Go get away” in racing parlance.
Cox also saddled the “other” gray, Godolphin’s Essential Quality, the 9-5 favorite by post time. Unlike his stablemate, who uses sprinter speed to jump out quickly to the front, Essential Quality’s weapons are tactical speed and stamina. The son of Tapit likes to track his competitors and pounce in the final furlong. That was a successful strategy in seven of his eight starts, but one that left his fans with sweaty palms and palpitating hearts.
Essential Quality was probably the contender who’s chance at victory was most hurt by the lack of pressure on Knicks Go. He had won at both 10 (Travers Stakes, G1) and 12 (Belmont Stakes, G1) furlongs, but was able to stay off the leader, winning with stamina and a late kick. This Classic did not set up that way for him.
Hot Rod Charlie was the fan favorite, victor in this year’s Pennsylvania Derby (G1). He had won only three times in 11 starts, but the son of Oxbow consistently ran well in big races. He finished third in the Kentucky Derby (G1), behind Medina Spirit and runner-up Mandaloun, but ahead of Essential Quality. He ran a big race against Essential Quality in the 1 1/2-mile Belmont (G1), only to tire in the final furlongs, finishing second. He has enough speed that he could have pressed Knicks Go early to create a speed duel and hope for a good result.
The most controversial Horse of the Year candidate had he won would have been Bob Baffert-trained Medina Spirit. The three-year-old son of Protonico finished first in the Kentucky Derby, but post-race split blood samples tested positive for the presence of a minute amount of betamethasone, a corticosteroid. Any amount is banned in Kentucky on raceday.
Baffert claims an ointment containing the banned substance as one of its ingredients was used to treat a skin rash on Medina Spirit’s right hind quarter, a claim seemingly supported by published before-and-after photographs.
Officials at Churchill Downs have imposed a two-year suspension on Baffert and additional restrictions on horses he may train and race at other tracks. Though they indicated Medina Spirit would be disqualified from his Derby win if the split sample tested positive, that action has not yet been taken.
The Baffert team turned to the Kentucky courts to plead its case and have the suspension and restrictions lifted. The issue is currently wending its way through those courts with no hint of the timing of a final resolution.
A Medina Spirit win in the Classic would have posed a vexing question to Eclipse Award voters and to the sport itself. That question didn’t arise but his second-place Classic finish coming off an impressive win in the listed Shared Belief Stakes suggests Medina Spirit has regained his winning Kentucky Derby form. He may continue to race as a four-year-old.
Had Knicks Go, Essential Quality, Hot Rod Charlie and Medina Spirit all fallen victim to another challenger The Horse of the Year could have turned out to be the horse of a different gender.
That would be Kentucky-bred 2019 Mexican Champion Three-Year-Old Filly Letruska. The five-year-old Super Saver mare came into the Distaff as this year’s version of last year’s Preakness winner, Swiss Skydiver…only better. She was moved north early in the year as Gutierrez established an American barn for Mexico’s St. George Stable. She shocked the racing world with a nose victory over reigning Champion Older Female Monomoy Girl in April’s Apple Blossom (G1).
After six victories and a runner-up finish in seven starts this year, the shock wore off and wonder set in. Her 2021 resume already guaranteed her Eclipse Award Champion Older Female honors.
Trainer Fausto Gutierrez opted to let her race with the females in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, hoping the boys would falter in the Classic and leave a HOY opening for Letruska had she won.
But Letruska was defeated by a blistering pace in the 1 1/8-mile test—the first quarter in :21, the half in :44. Japan’s 49-1 Marche Lorraine sneaked through at the wire to win with a head bob photo finish over Dunbar Road in the closest of the 14 Breeders’ Cup races. A spent Letruska, still a lock as Eclipse Award Champion Older Female, would finish tenth in the 11-horse field.
“It’s impossible (for Letruska) to run with those fractions,” said a disappointed Gutierrez.
Following her Distaff loss, Letruska’s career record stands at a still-impressive 17 wins in 23 starts along with a place and a show.
The way the hooves fell in the Distaff and the Classic crowned Knicks Go the likely Eclipse Award Champion Horse of the Year as well as Champion Older Male. The results also confirmed the old racing adage: “Pace makes the race.”
…and, yes, speed kills.
