Breeders' Cup Classic hero Knicks Go leading the way for solid sire Paynter

The powerful performance by Knicks Go in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic will elevate his sire Paynter into new territory on North America's general leading sire list, putting him among the top five for the first time with more than $13 million in progeny earnings for the year.

Knicks Go, who has had a remarkable year that included four Graded wins leading into the Classic, has contributed more than half to Paynter's total earnings for the year but it would be unfair to label WinStar Farm's son of Awesome Again as the sire of only one brilliant runner.

Paynter has annually ranked at or near the top of his sire class since his progeny started racing in 2017 and was the second-leading sire of his class in 2019 by earnings even when Knicks Go had not won a race and was only once stakes-placed.

Bred in Kentucky by Diamond A Racing, Paynter was purchased for $325,000 by Zayat Stables at the 2010 Keeneland September Yearling Sale out of the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment. Bob Baffert trained the colt who won on his debut of his sophomore year and was fourth in the Santa Anita Derby on his second start.

He finished second in The Cliff's Edge Derby Trial Stakes at Churchill Downs before finishing second beaten a neck by Union Rags in the Belmont Stakes. Paynter finally captured a Graded race when he won the Haskell Invitational Stakes. He wouldn't win another Graded race but placed in two, including a second in the 2013 Awesome Again, before he was retired with four wins and four seconds from 11 starts and $1,101,924 in earnings.

As a sire, he ranked in the top ten of his freshman class of 2017 with 13 winners and one black-type winner. Knicks Go appeared during Paynter's second-crop year and became his first Grade 1 winner after taking the 2018 Claiborne Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland.

Knicks Go then struggled at three in 2019 but other Paynter runners stepped up, with four stakes winners capturing eight black-type stakes and two winners placing in Graded stakes. His top performers of 2019 included Pocahontas Stakes winner Lazy Daisy and three-time stakes winner A Bit of Both. Paynter ranked second as a third-crop sire with nearly $6 million in progeny earnings.

In 2020, Knicks Go began returning to form and ended the year by winning the Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. Paynter, however, was showing even more depth as a sire.

During his fourth-crop year, he was co-leader by number of winners with 114, the leading sire by stakes winners with nine, and the co-leader by number of Graded winners with three. Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa's Violence was tied with him by number of winners and stakes winners.

Knicks Go is still Paynter's sole Grade 1 winner, but the sire has been a steady source of racehorses, with 80 per cent of his foals going on to start in a race and nearly 60 per cent of them becoming winners.

His runners earn $89,197 on average, which is solid for a stallion that stood for $10,000 in 2020-21. Two weeks ago WinStar released its fees for 2022 and tentatively set Paynter's fee at $7,500, which would be guaranteed through the Breeders' Cup. That guarantee has likely expired.

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