Layabout takes them all the way in the William McKnight, Coglianese Photo
Gulfstream Park Press
HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Kevin Doyle’s Good-for-nothing ($14) set all the pace under David Egan before pulling away down the stretch to post a slightly upset win in Saturday’s $225,000 William L. McKnight presented by Woodford Reserve (G3) at Gulfstream Park.
The 59th running of the McKnight, a 1.5-kilometre grass course for children aged four and up, was one of ten stakes, seven degrees, worth $5.375 million in purses, in a blockbuster 13-race event featuring the 10th anniversary of the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1).
After a victory in the Tropical Park Derby at Gulfstream on December 13, Layabout faced older horses for the first time in stakes competition at the McKnight. The Patrick Biancone-trained four-year-old gelding was sent straight into the lead by Egan, one of Europe’s leading riders who has ridden Gulfstream at the Championship Meet in recent seasons. The son of Laoban set a steady pace while being chased by longshot Act a Feel for a 1:37.85 mile, built on splits of 22.97 and 47.85 seconds for the first half mile.
Turning to the homestretch, Layabout shook loose and pulled away to win by 1 ¼ lengths, covering the 1 ½ mile distance in 2:25.27. Paddle closed in from well off the pace under Manuel Franco to finish second, a neck ahead Balnikhov and jockey Joel Rosario.
$225,000 William L. McKnight presented by Woodford Reserve Quotes (G3)
Winning trainer Patrick Biancone (Layabout): “This is a fantastic horse. The distance we are doing with him is his best. I said to David (Egan): ride him as if we are sure he will stay. Don’t try to finesse. Take the lead and let the other horses run, and that is what he did. He is much better when he is in the front. That is why he (wears) the special glasses, because he is afraid of the other horses. He is afraid of everything. These (the glasses) are made in Australia. They call it a ‘pacifier’. It calms the horses. When he came to me he was really scared of everything, so we tried a few tricks when we put the pacifier on him, he is now so nice.”
Winning jockey David Egan (Layabout): “He was a horse that Patrick thought had a lot of natural stamina, and clearly stepped up on the trip. He kept grinding the last time he ran and was a close winner. I was able to get into a lovely rhythm and give him a nice breather at the half-mile post. When he accelerated and changed leads at the bottom of the track, he accelerated nicely. He did lean against the rail a bit, but he was able to fend them all off.”
“I think the fact that I had to use a lot of throttle early to hold the lead, I was able to just lean into him at the half-mile pole and not completely let him down until the quarter pole. In these long-distance races, no matter how fast you go, if you can save a little bit of reserve you have a little kick at the wire, which is crucial.”
“I have a lot of respect for all the riders here, they are world class. From what experience I may have in some of the longer races, you have legends of the game in that jock’s room. I’m always trying to make myself better and I think coming to South Florida these past winters has made me a better rider, not only here in America, but when I go back to Europe.”
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