McKnight Stakes (Grade 3)- $200.000 Purse
GP- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Half on the Inner Turf
January 24, 2026
King Z would come close to a threepeat in the McKnight Stakes, but it would be a gelding from The Sidley Stud showing that royalty is obsolete as Tech App would get the headbob at the wire to secure his first graded win. While Tech App did win a $200.000 stake in June, his two starts that followed it were not encouraging, and that would play a role in his being a longshot at odds of about 11/1. Something that was overlooked in the preview was this horse’s record at a mile and a half specifically, with two wins and a second in three such starts. Now, he can add another win to that record while trainer The Sidley Stud and jockey R Bejarano celebrate their first win in the McKnight Stakes. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 2:24.88, equaling the fourth quickest time in the race’s history. Let’s take a look at it now!
(½ Mile- :48.78)- Jakarta, trained by Nakamura Stables, would be the quickest out of the gate and would have a length advantage into the opening turn over a group of three stalkers. They consisted of Sick Boi on the rail for Royalty Stables, Dangerous Fugitive between horses for Night Rider Stables, and the two time defending champion of the race, Mb Stables’ King Z on the outside. At a half mile, Jakarta would get some more pressure to his inside from Sick Boi while King Z ran third. Dangerous Fugitive kept touch with them in fourth, with a gap of at least three to the rest of the field. This is where we find the fifth place, Saratoga Stud- trained, One Last Punch Line running, a length ahead of The Sidley Stud’s Whipped and Ajm Stables’ Kegger. There’s a break of about two more to the trailer, and eventual winner of the race from The Sidley Stud, Tech App. He is officially scored as being nine lengths off the pace at this point.
(3/4 Mile- 1:13.04)- Moving down the frontstretch and into the second turn, Jakarta is still the leader but that advantage is shrinking as he has rivals coming on both sides of him. To his inside, it’s Sick Boi, who had been there for the frontstretch run but now appeared more interested in taking the top spot. King Z also got closer, and was now within half a length while running three wide. Dangerous Fugitive would opt to stalk these three, and he still had about a three length gap behind him to the rest of the field. Further back, we have One Last Punch Line being the best of the rest, and doing so by a length on Whipped, and another on Kegger. Tech App may have been slow to load, but was saving his best for the end, trailing now by ten, but he is a known closer, so may have had them right where he wanted them.
(Top of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- King Z would take the lead entering the backstretch, but Jakarta was still able to run with him at that point. Sick Boi was already looking a little leg weary, and Dangerous Fugitive definitely was. A great backstretch run would see King Z now lead by a length, and he looked to be in great shape at this point of the race, putting away those closest to him. King Z had no problem with the final turn, and entered the top of the stretch leading by nearly two on Jakarta. His lone concern now would be whether a new challenger would be getting ready to take a run, and at the back of the field, Tech App was beginning to make his intentions known. He had not passed anyone yet, but swung five wide entering the stretch and had closed in on the race leader. Could there actually be enough time for him? Meanwhile, as this was going on, Jakarta began to tire out, and both Sick Boi and Dangerous Fugitive were done for. One Last Punch Line gained a little, and both Whipped and Kegger also looked to make late runs.
(Finish- 2:24.88)- Early in the stretch, Tech App was full of run and would move into the third position with a little under a furlong to go. There was about two and a half lengths more for him to make up, and based on this closing rate, it did seem like King Z would be in trouble. The leader would do everything he could to try and hang on, but R Bejarano timed his run absolutely perfectly, as Tech App gets up in the very last stride with not a split second to spare, getting the head bob at the wire in a very tight photo. Another late runner, Kegger, got by the rest of the field to be third, and was a length behind the top two. One Last Punch Line is the best of the rest for the fourth spot, topping Jakarta, Sick Boi, Whipped, and Dangerous Fugitive.
About The Winner- Tech App, trained by The Sidley Stud and ridden to victory by R Bejarano, is a five year old gelding by Techfluence and is out of Ginger Appeal. He was bred in West Virginia by his trainer and they have been together throughout. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his seventh in 22 starts, his second stake win and first graded win. His career earnings are now $314.790.
— NS
Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES