After six previous stakes tries at Monmouth Park, with three seconds to show for those efforts, the percentages suggest that Kentucky-based trainer Chris Davis is due for a win when he sends out Knick the Quick in Saturday’s $100,000 Sapling Stakes for 2-year-olds.

Except Davis has been doing this long enough to know that really isn’t the case.

“One thing in this game is that you’re never due for anything,” said Davis. “It’s one of those things where you wake up every day and go to work and try to get better and try to get more lucky.

“But you can never say you’re due for one because there are a lot of people in this game that have waited a lot longer than I have to win a stakes race at Monmouth. You just have to keep trying.”

Knick the Quick represents Davis’ latest effort at stakes glory at Monmouth Park, with the Kentucky-bred son of Knicks Go coming in off a handy score in his debut against maiden special weight company at Horseshoe Indianapolis on Aug. 5.

Both that race and the Sapling are one-turn miles.

Seven horses are entered in the Sapling, though trainer Jorge Duarte, Jr., said that only one of the two he entered (Channel the Music) will go in the race.

“It’s a good spot for $100,00 and it’s two turns, which my horse wants,” said the 36-year-old Davis, who started his training career in 2016. “Numbers-wise this race looks interesting. I think there are a few horses in there who got inflated numbers. We’ll see.

“My horse is doing good and he is the only one in the field proven around two turns.”

Davis tried a similar path to last year’s Sapling with Truly Legit, who came to the Jersey Shore off a debut win at Horseshoe Indianapolis. Truly Legit finished sixth in the Sapling.

In the other four previous Monmouth Park stakes tries that Davis has made, Moonlit Garden finished second in the 2018 Lady’s Secret Stakes, Quick Tempo was second in the 2021 Rumson Stakes (and ninth in the 2022 Mr. Prospector Stakes), and American Sanctuary finished second in the 2021 Sapling, beaten a half-length by the Todd Pletcher-trained Double Thunder.

“You put your horses where they can be competitive and at the end of the day it’s a matter of who gets the better trip and who has the best horse that day,” said Davis, who oversees 50 horses.

Davis picked out Knick the Quick at the OBS April Sale for $100,000 for owners Dare to Dream Stable LLC.

“He’s a horse I always thought wanted to go two turns and would like the dirt,” Davis said. “I train him at Turfway Park (on synthetic). He doesn’t always blow you away in the mornings in terms of what he does. But I bought him for dirt and two turns and he showed he could handle both in his first start.”

The field for the Sapling features several impressive last-out winners. Channel the Music, trained by Duarte, won his last start by 6 ½ lengths at 6 ½ furlongs at Colonial Downs on July 18. Just Asap, trained by Mark Casse, won his debut by seven lengths going seven furlongs at Ellis Park on Aug. 4.

The Joe Orseno-trained Aye Eye captured his debut by 1½ lengths at Saratoga on Aug. 8 going six furlongs and the Mike Maker-trained One More Freud was claimed out of his debut in a $35,000 maiden claimer and went on to win the six-furlong race by 14 ½ lengths.

The other horse entered is first-time starter Spherification, who is trained by Alexis Delgado.