SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.— Jeremy Sussman, Ten Strike Racing and Cory Moelis Racing’s Kneedeepinsnow looks to spoil the party in Saturday’s Grade 1, $600,000 Forego, a seven-furlong main track sprint for older horses, at Saratoga Race Course.
Trained by Matt Shirer, the 6-year-old gelding by Flat Out was last seen finishing second to reigning Champion Sprinter Jackie’s Warrior in the Grade 1 Vanderbilt on July 30 at the Spa. Kneedeepinsnow will face that same rival Saturday, along with five others when he breaks from the outermost post 7 in rein to returning rider Ricardo Santana, Jr.
“He shipped up only a week before that last stakes race he ran here,” said Shirer. “Sometimes things can be a bit hectic. The horses don’t quite settle and stuff, but now he’s gotten a month or so between being here and the race. He’s got two breezes over the Oklahoma, he schooled yesterday in the paddock and everything went good.”
Shirer said he’s enjoyed the ride with Kneedeepinsnow, who was haltered out of an optional claimer for $80,000 in April at Keeneland and has since run him three times, all at stakes level, and has not missed the board in any of those starts. He was second in the Work All Week at Hawthorne in June first off the claim and followed that run with a third in the Kelly’s Landing at Churchill Downs July 2.
“We don’t necessarily expect to win, it’d be great if we did,” said Shirer. “It’s the graveyard of champions so we’ll see what happens. It’s been a good experience coming up here and getting to run against some of the best horses in the country, the best trainers in the country. So, it’ll be exciting tomorrow.”
Shirer said a lot stood out about Kneedeepinsnow for them to make the claim.
“He was good on paper. He had good numbers and everything,” said Shirer. “He had a lot of traffic trouble in some of the stakes he’d run in previously, and after watching the replays we thought he had a little bit more to him. Some of those numbers, without traffic trouble, he might’ve won one or two of those races, so we went ahead and took a shot to claim him and it’s worked out so far.”
Despite having a small stable here at Saratoga, Shirer has compiled a good record of 4-1-1-1, which he said is a testament to using his stall space responsibly and realistically.
“I’ve only got about four stalls so we just tried to bring horses that would be competitive and try to run them in the right races,” said Shirer.
NYRA Press Office
Photo: Kneedeepinsnow wins an allowance optional claimer at Oaklawn Park on January 14th, 2022 (Coady Photography)
