Tom Pedulla presents five takeaways from the $1 million, Grade 1 Whitney Stakes on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course and other major developments this weekend:

GOOD AS IT GETS: Everything came together for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen when he won the fifth race on Saturday at Saratoga with first-time starter Stellar Tap to gain the 9,446th victory of his career and surpass Dale Baird as the winningest trainer in North America. The Tapit colt learned early lessons from Asmussen’s parents, Keith and Marilyn, at their farm in Laredo, Texas. He is co-owned by Winchell Thoroughbreds, which has played a major role in Asmussen’s success. He was ridden by Ricardo Santana Jr., the jockey Asmussen turns to most often when he has big horses in big spots. Asmussen summarized his monumental accomplishment by saying, “It’s impossible to put into words what horse racing means to me and my whole family and to all the employees.”

Knicks Go winning Whitney Stakes. (Eclipse Sportswire)

BOUND FOR CLASSIC?: Trainer Brad Cox entered the Whitney needing some convincing that burner Knicks Go would be up to the challenge of the testing mile and a quarter of the $6 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 6 at Del Mar. The scintillating gate-to-wire performance he got in the 1 1/8-mile Whitney went a long way toward doing that as the dominant Whitney winner locked in a fees-paid berth for the Classic. The relaxed manner in which the son of Paynter registered a final time of 1:47.70 led most observers to believe an additional eighth of a mile will not be an issue. Cox noted the soundness of Knicks Go and said, “We’ll come up with a plan somehow. We’ll just let the dust settle, but it will probably be the Classic.”

MUCH-NEEDED RACE: Although Swiss Skydiver failed in her bid to become the seventh filly to win the Whitney in its 94-year history and the first since Personal Ensign in 1988, all was not lost. She had not competed since April 17 and her flattening fourth of five in the Whitney provided a vivid example of a horse that badly needed a race. A fever had cost her a scheduled start in the June 5 Ogden Phipps Stakes, then an outbreak of equine herpesvirus forced the connections to scrap plans to run in the much easier Grade 3 Shuvee Stakes and take a shot against males in the Whitney. Trainer Ken McPeek is confident Swiss Skydiver will benefit from the Whitney. “She needed a good deep one and that’s what we got,” he said. “Expectation to win today wasn’t that high so much as we got to get her going again.”

ONE TO WATCH: Fans would do well to add Soldier Rising to their Equibase Virtual Stables. The gelded son of Frankel, making his North American debut for trainer Christophe Clement after four starts in France, was most impressive while finishing second to Ireland’s State of Rest in the $1 million Saratoga Derby Invitational, run at a mile and three-sixteenths on Saturday. Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. was among those who came away impressed by Soldier Rising, who overcame a sluggish start. “He’s a nice horse, really nice,” Ortiz Jr. said. “I had a lot of power under me.” Andre Fabre previously trained Soldier Rising. He looks to be an outstanding acquisition for Michael Dubb, Morris Bailey, Madaket Stables, Wonder Stables, and Michael Caruso. 

GOTTA BE THE SHOE: Value Proposition looked like a good proposition to win the Fasig-Tipton Lure – until he lost a shoe before the race and ran for purse money only in finishing third. “Unfortunately, when he stepped on the turf course and was behind the gate waiting to load, he stepped on himself and popped his shoe off,” trainer Chad Brown said. “He was safe to run. He still ran a really good race to finish third. Those things happen. We’ve had several horses lose shoes after a race, but it’s weird to happen right before the race. It’s unfortunate for that horse and it probably affected him a little bit.”