Terribly Great 2's: Know More

In a matter of weeks, trainer Doug O'Neill hoisted himself from relative obscurity into the history books of Thoroughbred horse racing.
Before the spring of 2012, few had heard mention of Reddam Racing or its eccentric, fan-friendly trainer. Not until, that is, a particular chestnut colt bounded his way into the hearts and homes of thousands of race fans world-wide.
Some love these connections, others hate them. Regardless, we are all familiar with the white and purple silks of Reddam Racing, no matter our views and "expert" opinions on them.

I'll Have Another, 2012's Derby and Preakness superstar

The final moments of today's Best Pal Stakes (G2) marked a very nostalgic moment for fans of I'll Have Another, the recently retired star of this year's Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. A bay 2 year old clad in the same, white and purple armor, carved his name beside that of Creative Cause, Lookin At Lucky, Dixie Union and Best Pal with a lightning turn of foot that flung the banner of J. Paul Reddam in front of a pack of seven top-class two-year-olds. Know More, a bay son of Lion Heart, captured the Best Pal by a nice, visible margin.

While the final time of 1:16.14 was nothing record-shattering, the way in which the race was won was eerily reminiscent of I'll Have Another's famous late charge. What is next for Know More, a colt clearly gifted with something of the great, closing kick that has become the trademark of so many champions?

After only one race, it is hard to assess the quality and character of any racehorse, let alone a two-year-old.
We can, however, pull aside at least a fraction of the curtain on Know More's talent by delving into his pedigree.

Know More is sired by Lion Heart, a stallion best known for finishing second to Smarty Jones in the 2004 Kentucky Derby. While Lion Heart has produced a handful of notable distance runners (think Dangerous Midge and Line of David), his offspring average a typical winning distance of only 6.3 furlongs. Know More's grandsire is Tale of the Cat, a sire capable of producing just about every type of runner. Some of his more distance-happy offspring are Gio Ponti, Tale of Ekati, Spellbinder, Catboat, and Lion Heart himself. Tale of the Cat is sired by Storm Cat, whom is widely known for producing distance champions such as Bluegrass Cat, Courageous Cat, and Tabasco Cat. Lion Heart's dam, Satin Sunrise, raced 78 times in the claiming ranks, winning at distances of up to 1 1/8 miles.

Know More is his dam's, Seattle Qui's, fifth foal. Her first, Seattle Monty, was an unsuccessful sprinter who found the Winner's Circle only once in 9 claiming-rank starts. Her second foal, a 2007 Bernstein colt, broke his maiden by over 5 lengths and found victory in the William L. Proctor Memorial Stakes before failing to win again. Seattle Melody, Seattle Qui's third offspring, recently broke his maiden in a claiming event after failing in 12 other attempts. Her 2009 foal, Vacationing, has failed to succeed in 7 maiden special weight tries to date. Know More's damsire is the great Seattle Slew. In addition to winning the Triple Crown, Seattle Slew is known for siring prolific runners such as A.P. Indy, Landaluce and Slew O' Gold. He is the grandsire of Rags to Riches, Bernardini, and Lava Man, and the broodmare sire of Cigar. One of Seattle Slew's sons, Slewacide, served as broodmare sire to Kentucky Derby and Preakness champ Funny Cide. Know More's granddam is Qui Bid, who was sired by Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Spectacular Bid.

While there are multiple speed influences in Know More's pedigree, it appears to lean more onto the routing side of the scale. It is very possible that this colt will learn to handle a good bit of ground. He was nothing short of brilliant in today's debut; fans have no reason not to hope that Know More could develop into a glossy, new classics contender.