What's Up with KC Racing : June Y19 Edition

KC Racing has been silent for the first quarter of the year primarily focusing on getting their youngstock in line (more on that later) and managing their actively racing roster. There haven't been many changes of hand for KC Racing's horses as we have yet to have enough notable home-bred stock to be eligible to sell in any of the annual auctions. We have, however, made a few additions in the past quarter and coming into the second quarter that we will mention thoroughly today. An update for Kennington Farm, our breeding partner and consignor for most of our youngstock, will be up shortly after. 

New racing additions for Y19 by way of sale: Bayahibe, Rogue Prince, Whattatwist, Lady Pegasus, Takeover Bid, Bizarre Redemption, Jacques Cousteau

Let's start with our five year olds!

DEATHFLASH'S TRUTH (Deathflash's Pride - Loose Truth) - This sweet colt, now full-grown stallion, has served us well in the two years we've had him since we bought him back in 2017. Over the months this horse has been a pleasure to work with and has been prized for not only just his amazing disposition and willingness to please but also his tenacity. He's changed his song and dance tremendously by going from a heavily undercard horse at four to a formidable foe in the HOTY high stakes races at five. He's G1 now and is on his way out of the racing scene but you can be sure to see him running against some of the fastest horses in the country up until late December. We've decided that he will make his last stand at the Breeders' Cup Sprint later this year. Kennington Farm has already has him down to be booked to Superb Curiosity (this will be her first foal) in 2020. Though breeding a maiden stallion to a maiden mare might be frowned upon at times, both of the horses records on the track and likeness in racing styles makes them ideal first-time matches.

HELLAGOOD (Foundation - Foundation) - This horse had a poor start in life. He was bred, raised and trained on a small horse racing farm where he was both starved and physically abused by his handlers and the mature stallions that he was turned out. We got our hands on him at three from a small auction because all he was getting was low balls and we feared that he might end up in the kill pen. This horse deserved so much more than that and despite everything that had happened to him, scars and all, he still had the heart to run. Others turned him away because who'd want to deal with a heavily scarred, head shy 1,200 lb running machine? We did. The result? A now five year old fairly consistent stallion winning the Sea Native Stakes* and Summer Cup G4 Dirt Sprint* at four. We don't plan to push him too hard this year as he's been racing somewhat lightly so far as though he's potent and aggressive on and off the track, he can be quite a handful in HOTY races with other equally ambitious individuals. Therefore, Hellagood will be retiring once he reaches Grade 1. Kennington Farm has him booked to Daydream (dam of Ivan Ashment Handicap* winner, Shanty Town) in 2020.

PARTYATTHEDISCO (Foundation - Foundation) - Wow, what a ride it has been with this mare over the last three years. We know the family of this mare all to well (Mardi Gras and now little brother, Party O'War) and we're finding it hard to let this mare go come December this year. She has been an absolute powerhouse in her time with us and temporarily raced under Firestone Racing's colors last year to change up her racing preferences. She's now running as a full HOTY horse and had been one of our top racing fillies next to Rise Me Gold (who retired earlier this year). We really don't want to see her go but all good things must come to an end and we can't ask her to run into her sixth year when she's been just a great all-around horse. Though it might be a long shot, she deserves the chance to make her last stand at the Breeders Cup Distaff* in December before being sent off to Kennington Farm to join former stable mate Rise Me Gold among others. She will be booked to Radiant Silver in the spring. 

BAYAHIBE (Foundation - Foundation) - Acquired recently from the Summer Sale, Bayahibe is a horse that is going to be running for a long while yet. He's been pre-approved by the association to run until seven but if the boy manages to get to G1 long before that we may take that into reconsideration. He's been raced very lightly over his entire career and we're slowly working him up to running the rigorous race schedule that we operate here at KC Racing. 

How about them four year olds?!

BIZARRE REDEMPTION (Bizarre Act - Gift of Redemption) - We favored this filly's breeding from the very start. She's out of Gift of Redemption who is the dam of War of Redemption, a nice colt we bred for Scotia back when we were the owner of his sire, This Means War. With that being said, we prided this mare because boy, can she throw some amazing foals! This filly is no exception to that rule as she's taken to hitting the HOTY races in stride without looking back. She's a bit skittish but nothing that we can't handle. If she's able to pick up the HOTY bar by the end of the year and placing a little higher, she'll run into her five year old season. Otherwise, she'll retire in December and be booked to Rising Wonder when he becomes available.

LOUISIANA BLUES (Jazzaway - Santana's Moment) - This filly has always been consistent throughout her career but not consistent in the way that would make her HOTY material, unfortunately. If she were ranking in at G2-level we'd easily start directing her towards HOTY traffic but be it as it may, she's just not ready. Her direct family isn't known to produce heavy hitting HOTY horses and there's nothing wrong with that in the slightest as their consistency makes up for it all. Louisiana Blues will be retired at the end of 2019 and will be booked to Passionate God.

ICARUS FLIGHT (BHOF Forbidden to Fly - Sizzling Dawn) - A filly who has seen it all and done it all, Icarus Flight will probably continue running into her sixth or seventh year and continue to tackle HOTY races. She has earned a little over $4M in earnings and is known for excelling at the sprinter distances. She will be revisiting the Breeders Cup Filly & Mare Sprint* this year in hopes of winning it, if not there's always next year and herein after.

OH THE IRONY (Comeuppance - The Prize) - A custom breeding was the origin of this filly as an IRS foal was at the top of our 'Top 10 Things We Need' list. Unfortunately, Oh The Irony had a rocky start as during her juvenile year she injured herself and had to be shelved for the remainder of the season before making a comeback as a three year old. She picked up for quite a while though now she's fallen back again at four. The filly has been to the vet before and it's come into question as to whether or not that old injury is affecting the filly again even after she received a bill of perfect health. She hasn't seen a win in roughly six months despite participating in both HOTY and undercard races. If this continues, it's in the filly's best interest to retire her not only just for her racing consistency image but her health as well. That being the case, if all else fails, she will be retired in December.

RISING WONDER (The Rising - No Wonder) - Turf sensation and poster boy for KC Racing, Rising Wonder has won the hearts of many during his career. He's the known rival to distant relative, Hyperion and shook up the Turf Triple Crown last year and made it difficult for any horse to capture the crown with a mentality of, 'If I can't have it, then nobody can!' He's earned a whopping $8M in his career and he's still going strong with a heart of gold. KC Racing has done wonders for the The Rising line and that is sure to continue in the coming years. Rising Wonder will try again this year for the Breeders' Cup Turf* before repeating the cycle again next year, probably retiring either June or December 2020.

TAKEOVER BID (The Innocent Skier - Terror Smile) - A nice turf horse that has unfortunately been severely underraced during his career. This horse is going to be a major project horse for us and we  get him back into a regime that works for him. He'll continue running until the end of 2020.

TURBOCHARGED (Super Sparky - Madam Manic) - This colt is an amazing representation of what the Super Sparky line can do and then some. Turbocharged will probably finish out with undercards to get him to G1 and may not be considered for running as a five year old next year. With his sire pensioned, a successor is needed for the Super Sparky line over at Kennington Farm and Turbocharged would be the best horse for that position. In his stead, his half-sister, Nicely Done, will start next year and so the saga continues. He'll be paired off with Whattatwist for 2020.

WHATTATWIST (Revelry - Twista Luck) - Another incredibly consistent filly, this time a turf sprinter. We decided that once she reaches G1 (currently G2), Whattatwist will be retired and sent to Kennington Farm where she'll later be paired off with Turbocharged. This filly is such a beautiful horse with such an inquisitive nature that we're going to hate to see her go. 

ROGUE PRINCE (Mr. Hat And Clogs - Crowned Cookie) - Prince had a solid year as a three year old but fell down on hard times when his training stable closed its doors. Through working with Ripley of Battle Brook we were able to take the four year old in and since coming under our wing he has placed second after a month layoff. It's going to take some time to build this horse back up as he's gained a little weight and fell out of training which didn't do much to help his wild, feral-like behavior. He's going to continue running for us well into his fifth season until he finds his stride and reaches G1 level. 

JACQUES COUSTEAU (GS Royal Crown - Union Jacque) - A nice extremely consistent gelding that takes everything in stride at all times. Another purchase from Battle Brook, we've found that this gelding is a literal thousand pound puppy and we don't have a single problem with that. He's such a great horse that we've decided that when he does retire sometime next year, he'll be added to our growing roster of track ponies as he's just that well-mannered around both people and horses. We don't plan to direct him towards any major races as he's settled into the groove of undercards and from his high grade level we're afraid he might just get ran over going up against HOTY horses in the big leagues. We love him too much to dampen his courage like that and will direct him toward some of the seasonal cups going forward.