DEL MAR, Calif. – If you go with Knicks Go, you pay the price. If you don’t go with him, he makes you pay. On Saturday at Del Mar, Knicks Go hit the jackpot. Unpressured early, Knicks Go led from start to finish in the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic, nailing down Eclipse Awards as both Horse of the Year and champion older dirt male. The race was 1 1/4 miles, but it was over a quarter-mile into it. No one went with Knicks Go, and when he gets to rock along with his high cruising speed, he’s unbeatable going two turns. He came into this race having won seven straight two-turn races – his lost two one-turn races this year – and he glided over the Del Mar surface like a surfer catching the perfect wave in the nearby Pacific Ocean. Knicks Go, under Joel Rosario, went the opening quarter in 23.17 seconds, then picked up the pace enough to lose early pursuers through a half in 45.77, a 22.60 split. He then got a sweet mid-race breather to hit the six-furlong mark in 1:10.04, spurned bids from Hot Rod Charlie and Medina Spirit coming into the lane through a mile in 1:35.28, then bounded clear through the stretch to complete 1 1/4 miles on the fast main track in 1:59.57, which was good for a 112 Beyer Speed Figure. “I know he’s fast,” Rosario said. “When he broke like he did, I let him do his thing.” Knicks Go crossed the wire 2 3/4 lengths in front of Medina Spirit, who led a trio of 3-year-olds through the next placings. He outfinished Essential Quality by three-quarters of a length, with Hot Rod Charlie another length back in fourth. Stilleto Boy was fifth and was followed, in order, by Art Collector, Tripoli, and Max Player. Express Train was scratched earlier in the day. His trainer, John Shirreffs, said he kicked a hock while schooling earlier in the week. There was no fracture, but the swelling did not satisfactorily subside by raceday morning. Knicks Go ($8.40) was sent off the co-second choice, behind Essential Quality. This was the highest price he had paid since Brad Cox took over his trainer nearly two years and 10 starts ago. Knicks Go and Essential Quality are both trained by Cox, who sent both out to Breeders’ Cup wins last year at Keeneland, Knicks Go in the Dirt Mile, Essential Quality in the Juvenile. The Classic marked the first time they’d ever competed against one another.  “It was tough to watch,” Cox said. “Both horses have meant a lot to us.” The Classic marked the first time Knicks Go had run farther than 1 1/8 miles. He had won three straight 1 1/8-mile races after losing the Saudi Cup and Met Mile. In his most recent start, he cruised to victory in the Grade 3 Lukas Classic at Churchill Downs. “I had no doubt he’d get the mile and a quarter the way he finished off his races and then galloped out great,” Cox said. “I’m very proud of him. He’s very fast. He ran a big race today.” Medina Spirit, the fourth choice at 6-1, was expected to be the most prominent pace-presser to Knicks Go, but he broke a bit sluggishly, forcing jockey John Velazquez to alter strategy. “I couldn’t just go from fourth to first,” Velazquez said, reluctant to rush Medina Spirit after that start. He went after Knicks Go on the far turn, but “the other horse kept running.” Medina Spirit finished in front of both Essential Quality and Hot Rod Charlie in the Kentucky Derby – after which he tested positive for a legal medication that is banned on race day – and he did so again on Saturday, prompting an animated Velazquez to say, “Who’s the best 3-year-old now?” “Hopefully they’ll stop talking shit,” he said. “He beat the other 3-year-olds.” Cox said he believes Essential Quality has the better overall record, having raced all year long, with Grade 1 victories in the Belmont and Travers. “Hopefully he’s worthy of a championship,” Cox said. “He was the leader in the clubhouse coming into this.” Luis Saez rode Essential Quality, and he said the race dynamics worked against his colt. “I didn’t expect the pace to be that slow,” he said. “Everything was a mess.” Jockey Flavien Prat said Hot Rod Charlie had “a great trip.” “The winner was too good for us,” Prat said. “No excuses.” Knicks Go is owned by the Korea Racing Authority, which along with Cox and Rosario shared the spoils of victory. Also cashing in big, though, was Ron Anderson, the super agent who represents Rosario and Velazquez, who ran one-two, their mounts earning more than $4 million, from which Anderson will net six figures. “This horse is so good,” Anderson said of Knicks Go, as he accepted congratulations outside the jockeys’ room. “If you go with him, you’re going to be going the wrong way. If you let him go, you can’t catch him.” :: BREEDERS’ CUP 2021: See DRF’s special section with recaps, results, charts, news, and more for each division Knicks Go, 5, is a son of Paynter out of the Outflanker mare Kosmo’s Buddy. The Classic win was his 10th in 24 lifetime starts, and the $3.12 million winner’s share increased his career earnings to more than $8.6 million. Knicks Go won five times in seven starts this year, with three Grade 1 wins, the earlier Grade 1 scores the Pegasus World Cup Invitational and the Whitney. He finished off the year the way a champion is supposed to, with an emphatic victory against a quality group of horses that left no doubt to his superiority. He’s the 2021 Horse of the Year.