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Sim Trainer Stats Sim Race Stats |
ENOUGH KNOCK Owner/Trainer: win Record: 64-27-14-9; $7,824,240
Win: Breeders’ Bowl Mile-G1, Canada Mile-G1, Canada Turf-G1, Late Night Turf Classic-G1, The Brian Ex Birthday Special-G1, Florida Track Cap-G1, Kasuda Yinen Mile-G2, Fivestarnick Handicap-G2, The Kentuckiana Cup Mile-G3, Marasal Mile-G3, Bottle Rocket S-G3, Oceanport-G3, Brown Fields Handicap-G3, The Pudding & Bananas in ‘Bama Stakes-G3, Mike and Jen Stakes, Spruce Needles Stakes, Free and Equal Special, Star Champion Stakes, Beach Breeders’ Bowl, Good and Plenty Stakes. Place: Eddie O Cap-G1, Japan Cup-G1, Japan Mile-G1, Japan Sprint-G1, Cosmopolitan Handicap-G1, Classic Turf Stakes-G1, Bill Naskra Tribute-G1, Aberdasher Turf Mile-G1, Turf Invaders Stakes-G1, Fu Man Chu Stakes-G2, Kakarazuka Tinen Cup-G2, Winchester Cap-G3, Mesa Man Stakes, Son of Shaka Stakes, Jalmood Handicap. Show: Breeders’ Bowl Mile-G1, Japan Classic-G1, Sandpit Classic-G1, Oaktree Handicap-G1, Rising Sun Spring Cup-G1, Late Night Turf Classic-G1, The Nureyev-G1, Fort Lauderdale H-G3, Best Jockey Mile It is fitting that Enough Knock spent his entire career with a trainer named win, for winning is what this horse loved to do. In an era of closers, this guy was the polar opposite, dashing to the lead, spending his energy with reckless abandon; frying those who chose to tackle him early, and gutting it out late, daring the closers to catch him. The little black colt was stubbornly, defiantly a front runner, and he could run the legs right off you. He was a runner right from the start, scoring three wire to wire victories to begin his career, before tiring to third in the 1 ½ mile Grade 1 Sandpit Classic, beaten by Holy Ransom and Seattle Hit. Midnight Express, as Enough Knock was affectionately known, began his five year old season with a pair of easy allowance wins. Disaster struck in the G2 Pan American Handicap, as the colt faltered after his normal lighting start, ending up distanced. An answer came in the form of a broken rein, and his connections breathed a little easier. Three more losses followed though, with Enough Knock faltering in the stretch each time. Blinkers were added, and that proved to be the final piece of the puzzle. In his first start with the now famous black hood, the Midnight Express barreled along to the front in the G1 Late Night Turf Classic, opening up a ridiculous 11 length lead on the backside. He was throttled down at the finish, but still held the rest of the field at bay by a good three lengths, earning a 115 SF for the nine panels. Left in his wake were the likes of River Nicole, Intolerant Sea, Queen A.P, Eric Roo and High River. Another grade one victory quickly followed, as Enough Knock once again dashed to the lead and never looked back, again showing the way to Intolerant Sea, Prince Joe and several other graded stakes performers. The small black colt would sizzle his way through the summer, winning the G3 Bottle Rocket Stakes, defeating Huge Tale and Mine Forest, and stringing together eight wins in his first 10 starts with the blinkers, with only a second (behind Huge Forest in the G1 Eddie O) and a third as the lone smudges to that streak. He was simply sensational to watch, so reckless with his early speed you would swear he was rank, his jockeys faced with the delicate balancing act of letting him run, without letting him run away with them. Enough Knock was plenty fast, posting a 117 SF for the flat mile while winning the Beach Breeders Bowl Stakes. The strenuous schedule started to catch up to him; the black stallion would be beaten by Foggy A.P. in his next two races - finishing a gallant second behind that rival in the G2 Fu Man Chu Stakes (with Fog posting a 127 SF for the 1 1/16 miles, and Enough Knock two lengths behind with a 123 SF), and then on racing’s biggest day, the Breeders’ Bowl Mile, where Enough Knock had to settle for the show behind Foggy A.P. and School Kris. Two more losses would follow, gutsy seconds both, one in the G1 Japan Mile, the other in the marathon G1 Japan Classic. The Midnight Express would try sprinting to conclude the season, winning an allowance prep before finishing second in the G1 Japan Sprint. All in all, the Midnight Express would finish first or second in 17 of 22 starts in 1999, including 21 stakes and 18 graded stakes, ducking no one along the way, and running races his way. The sim would reward this remarkable achievement with the Eclipse Award for Champion Turf Male. The following year, the champ began with a smart stakes win, powering home to win by nine, but then his connections decided to tackle the main track with their star turfer. The first try was a marked success, as the Midnight Express captured the G1 Florida Track Cap, earning a 109 SF for the 10 furlongs. Enough Knock would acquit himself against top company in his next three graded starts on dirt, but it just wasn’t the same. Enough Knock would shuttle back and forth between the surfaces the rest of the season, having a tough beat in the G1 Cosmopolitan, when he was passed in the final strides by the lightly weighted Ray You, to lose by 1/4 length (119 SF). The Midnight Express bounced back off of that effort with his best performance of the season to date, smashing a top field in the G2 Kasuda Yinen by 6 ½ lengths and earning a 120 SF. He couldn’t quite carry his speed 10 panels in his next start, having to settle for second in the G2 Kakaruza Tinen Cup behind Road Rubbing. After a pair of losses, the win streak got back on track, with Enough Knock going wire to wire in the G2 Fivestarnick Handicap, the G1 Canada Mile, and the G3 Brown Fields. Inexplicably stretched out from his favored mile to 1 ½ miles, Enough Knock responded gamely, but wasn’t good enough, responding to rating to come from off the pace to finish second in the G1 Classic Turf, before finishing off the board in the Breeders’ Bowl Turf and then a distant third in the G1 Japan Classic. Dropped back to 1 1/16 miles, the Midnight Express romped from gate to wire in the Free and Equal Stakes, posting a 118 SF. It had been a solid year, but in hindsight, if the horse had been kept to a mile, he might have had a shot at a second championship. And that was the strategy employed by Enough Knock’s connections in 2001. Lightly campaigned, the horse won his seasonal turf debut, posting a 115 SF to capture a G3 in an event that featured Project Thor and Texas Project. A tough nose loss behind Pro Amad came two starts later in the Mesa Man. Two more seconds and a third would follow, but win had his eyes squarely on the prize. A solid win in the Spruce Needles over an off-track, a minor setback when his saddle slipped in the G1 Canada Mile. But in his next three starts, the magic was back, as if the coal black stallion had drunk from the fountain of youth. First came the Mike and Jen Stakes, with a 117 SF for the mile. Next came a meeting with destiny - the Breeders’ Bowl Mile. The former champ went off at odds of 9/1, with younger "now" horses like Used Bandaid, Starke Storm and Manilla Mint fancied by the bettors. Instead, Enough Knock proved that he was still king of the milers, breaking alertly out of the gate and never looking back, with Starke Storm never seriously threatening him in the stretch. The champ had finally earned Breeders’ Bowl glory, and had done it in style. Enough Knock’s final race of the season came in the G3 Marsala Mile, and the Midnight Express would show how it should be done one last time, winning wire to wire yet again, and holding off a determined Exeter Orange in the final few strides to best that rival by 1/4 length. Under a training tour-de-force by win, Enough Knock had put together a sparkling campaign, winning five of 11 starts on that surface and finishing off the board only twice, including the equipment malfunction in the Canada Mile. At eight, the black stallion didn’t have quite the same blazing speed, managing a third once in five starts, but earned Equinics bronze in that race. He was retired shortly thereafter, as arguably the best turf miler ever to grace the sim, and an exciting, dynamic frontrunner who could carry his speed in an era of closers. The Midnight Express, his black shadow roll, and his reckless speed were nearly unforgettable in action. At distances from eight to nine furlongs on the turf, he was nearly unbeatable, but was good enough to win on the dirt, and at distances longer than his best. Enough Knock had won Eclipse glory early on, but was good enough to win the elusive Breeders’ Bowl in the twilight of his career, ducking no one along the way. |
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