World No.1 Racehorse 'Nixgo' from Korea Racing Authority's Stable Retires in Style

Nixgo

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Kim Hyewon] Knicks Go (6 years old, stallion), a world champion racehorse belonging to the Korea Racing Authority, marked the end of his legendary racing career by finishing as the runner-up in the Pegasus World Cup held on the 29th (local time) at Gulfstream Park in Florida, USA.

Having previously won the World's Best Racehorse Award selected by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities and Longines on the 25th, Knicks Go chose the Pegasus World Cup as his final retirement race. As the defending champion who won last year's Pegasus World Cup, Knicks Go challenged for a consecutive victory but was overtaken by the strong rival and rising star Life is Good (4 years old, stallion), finishing second at the finish line.

Knicks Go was assigned the innermost gate number 1, while Life is Good was given the relatively advantageous gate number 4. A fierce battle for the lead broke out immediately after the start. As expected, Life is Good increased speed from the beginning and took the lead, with Knicks Go chasing behind. Life is Good crossed the finish line first with a running time of 1 minute 48.91 seconds, succeeding Knicks Go's throne.

Knicks Go, who finished as the runner-up, earned a prize money of $585,000 (approximately 700 million KRW). Since his debut in 2018, Knicks Go has participated in a total of 25 races, winning ten times and earning about $9 million (approximately 11 billion KRW) in prize money.

After winning last year's Pegasus World Cup and Breeders' Cup Classic and achieving the world number one ranking, Knicks Go will now leave the racetrack and begin his second career as a stallion.

Knicks Go will move to Taylor Made Stallions farm located in Kentucky, USA, and start breeding activities from this spring. His stud fee this year is $30,000 per cover, placing him in the top 2% among North American stallions, and the breeding revenue is expected to reach about 4 billion KRW this year.

Knicks Go will become the first Korean-owned horse to enter the American stud business. After being recognized for his pedigree value as a stallion in the US, he is expected to return to Korea. The Korea Racing Authority plans to distribute Knicks Go's bloodline to domestic breeding farms to improve the level of Korean racehorses and open export channels.

Lee Jinwoo, head of the Korea Racing Authority's Overseas Expansion Development Task Force, which selected and managed Knicks Go, said, "We are extremely grateful that Knicks Go, who reached the world's top by breaking racetrack records, has retired healthily," adding, "We will do our best to support Knicks Go so that he can enjoy his second career in a healthy and comfortable environment after running so well."