Post by Rendezvous on Jan 24, 2017 13:36:00 GMT -5
Wow, this year has been quite the year for KC Racing. Year Sixteen marks the first full year that KC Racing has been in business since it first opened its doors to the public late Year Fifteen. The small stable still basks in the shadows of much more prestiged racing stables whose barns and pastures may have seventy-five horses, or even more. Yet at the end of Year Sixteen, KC Racing can happily say that they are proud to be where they stand today and that although they still may be treading the murky waters of the shadows of the great, at least they can finally see a bit of light finally on the other side of the pond now.
Our favorite and founding colt that started it all back in 2015, Muggathugga overcame quite a few milestones this year. In January he finally broke his maiden as a maturing three year old in the Janvier Maiden. Eventually, he surpassed Grade Five and went on to Grade Four before finally ending the year as a Grade Three. He won his first HOTY race in the Tonalist Stakes* over at Battlestone Downs and placed third in the Pennsylvania Derby this year. “He’s a really good colt, spirited, but manageable. Out of all the horses here, he’s the easiest and the most pleasurable to work with. He’s the kinda horse that a lotta people want to train. In the distant future, I can definitely see him throwing some foals with pleasant dispositions.” says trainer John Murchison. Muggathugga will be continuing his career into 2017 as a four year old, the primary focus for him will be to get him settled in HOTY races and hopefully have him racing at the G1 level before his five year old season. He’ll be getting a pleasant start to the new year by racing in the Eupolio Derby to start him off before ending the month of January in the La Reve Derby.
Sylvanite! What a lovely filly this girl has turned out to be. She’s a really HOTY savvy filly and made a nice mark in the racing game for her three year old season. We have a lot of faith in this girl and that faith has gone a long way as Sylvanite was able to win the Maryland Derby, the last leg of the Turf Distance Series while placing third in the Virginia Derby and second in the California Derby of the same series. Although she fell incredibly short in her run for the Triple Tiara’s Acorn Stakes, she was able to secure a third place in the Wonder Where Stakes of the Canadian Triple Tiara. She’ll be going up against some of her former rivals such as Fire Goddess, Adrasteia and Animatia. She’s seen all these horses before, so we know she’ll be eager to challenge them yet again in the Breeder’s Cup Distaff*. We’ll be keeping her away from undercards in 2017 because she’s an incredibly competitive horse and loves an extra challenge. Her first race of the new year will be the Apple Blossom Handicap* during the second week of January.
A True Hero won his last race of the year during December Week Two and secured a win for the Renfro Stakes which puts him at Grade Two for the beginning of his four year old season once Year Seventeen begins. Hero came to us as a G4 earlier this year so this is quite a milestone on our part to be able to help this colt come as far as he has now. He ended the year rather pleasantly with a third place finish in the Eagleeye Derby, his first race as a G2 colt. He’ll get two or so full weeks off in preparation for the new season and we have hopes to steer him primarily towards HOTY races next year as he has the potential and pedigree to go farther than undercards. His first race of the new year will be at the end of January, the Sweet Victory Stakes.
Escape Artist has been a quiet racer for us, he doesn’t really shine spectacularly, but he isn’t a bad horse either. He’s two wins away from finally acquiring G2 status which is quite the feat as under Ripley Marsh’s ownership he had been benched from racing as a G5. Upon being taken up by KC Racing, the decision was made to put a saddle back on him. After some training and getting his head back into the game, Escape Artist was more than happy to get running again. He will end this year just as he did his two year old season in an HOTY race, this time the Breeder’s Cup Turf Sprint*. He’ll probably be the less HOTY experienced horse there, but last year he surprised all of us by defeating more experienced fillies last year at the End of Year Turf Sprint at Green Horse Fields. He’ll be returning to the undercards next year until he reaches G2, with his first race being the Brilliant Finish Stakes in January.
The competitive bay roan filly, Like A Lioness, is an odd horse. She’s been raced relatively lightly this year, so we hope that she’ll be racing a bit more often come next year. You can expect to see her in HOTY races next year as she didn’t do too badly last year in the HOTY races that she was entered in. She placed last in her last race of the year being the Chocochunk Derby. She’s an unusual horse and even head trainer John Murchison is having a hard time trying to figure out if she’s a strong HOTY contender as her race record says, or not as she has a hard time placing in undercards. Due to this her first race of the new year will be an undercard as John Murchison is quite hesitant to place her in any HOTY races regardless of the fact that she has done well in the past.
Two older fillies were acquired from Firestone Racing during the middle of 2016, one being Silent Heart. Silent Heart will be going into 2017 as a five year old and it will probably be her last year racing. As of right now, she is racing at the G2 level and needs three more wins until she hits the G1 level. If one were to look at her racing career they would realize that she had quite a rough start as a two year old, but has long since settled into her racing career. She’s a pretty solid filly with a great disposition and will likely be a great mother to her future foals come 2018 or 2019. Her last race of the year was the Honorable Stakes* where she placed last. She’ll be getting a month off to spend some much needed time in the pasture before starting back on the track in February.
Dark Maiden is the other horse acquired from Firestone Racing, a four year old dirt sprinter that will be five next year. She’s at the G3 level currently and will take a great deal of pushing if she is to hit the G1 level by the end of next year. She’s a fairly consistent racer, fortunately, and has a good track record with placing in HOTY races. Like her stablemate, Silent Heart, Dark Maiden will also be getting January off from racing before starting back on the track in February, her last race of the year was during the third week of December where she placed last in the End of Year Dirt Sprint. There are plans to breed her to Escape Artist when they both retire from the track and settle into their lives out to pasture.
The unruly Enrapture was acquired from Battlestone Downs and this filly has tried to take a bite out of four different people….during the first three days that she was at KCRS. During the times that we give our horses a break from the track we let them out to pasture and allow them to be horses, of course keeping the colts and fillies apart from one another. Enrapture, being on break with a few other horses at the time, just didn’t like the whole ‘being in a herd’ business and went into a biting and kicking frenzy. This resulted in us having to put Enrapture in her own pasture by her lonesome, just how she seems to like it apparently. This filly will finally race under our colors in January of next year and we had to actually hire a new jockey to handle her because she has tried to take a chunk out of every one of her current jockeys thus far. She’s a million dollar earning filly, sure, but it won’t cover any hospital or funeral bills. Enrapture, or fondly dubbed ‘Enni’ at times, ‘Nutcase’ in most cases will in her first race for KCRS for the Belle Victoire Derby*. Expect to see Enrapture sticking very close to the tracks in 2017, for her sake and the sake of the staff at KCRS.
Partyatthedisco made her debut this year and has almost surpassed her retired sister, Mardi Gras. Her last race of 2016 was the Island Fashion Stakes* where she placed last. She had a rather rough start to the year before finally settling into her own groove and winning her first HOTY race with the Autumn Cup*. Hopefully three weeks off and a couple of extra training regiments will get her back into tip top shape with her first race of the year being the Hot Spring Stakes. She’s almost three years old and is nearly at that seventeen point three hand mark, and she’s quite the looker as well.
Rise Me Gold was the lesser of two evils when we originally had Key West under our ownership. The filly has now gone from Maiden to G4 and hasn’t looked back since. She ended the year with a last place finish in the Joe O Farell Stakes* and the Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies*, the latte being a mistake and misjudgement on our part. Some horses just aren’t meant to be as HOTY savvy as others. Trainer John Murchison insisted we keep her to the undercards, so her first race of the new year will be the Addiction Stakes in January. We’d like to see her place a bit higher come next year and we hope to be able to direct her towards the Triple Tiara, but judging from the stern looks by John Murchison, that probably won’t be in her future.
We acquired Roussong as a trade for Key West. A well rounded colt who earned over $300,000 by the end of his two year old season. He will also be ending this year as a G4. He was able to secure several placings in HOTY races, winning the Alot-to-live-up-to Stakes* and third in the Jack Prince Juvenile* and Orchid Cup Colts*. He seems to be a nice contender for the many Triple Crown races, much more than Rise Me Gold is for the Triple Tiara but only time will tell as that time rapidly approaches yet again. Out of all of our 2016 2-year olds, Roussong is the only one that seems to have a thing for HOTY races, having ended the year with a second place finish in the Arizona Breeder’s Futurity* and a third place finish in the Blue Mountain Stakes*, losing the race to former KCRS horse, Key West. Roussong will be getting a week off before jumping back into the game for January Week 2 in an undercard, Gateway Derby as a test run before tackling the Middlient Derby* at the end of the month. After the Gateway Derby, the primary focus would be to practically glue him to HOTY races.
Lastly, you will also see a few horses make their debut next year on the track, this will include Icarus Flight, Oh The Irony, Louisiana Blues, Sweet Talker, Beyond Constellation and Rising Wonder. We’ve leased out all of our juveniles for 2017 except for Icarus Flight, Oh The Irony and Rising Wonder.
Icarus Flight, one of the smallest newcomers to our racing string standing at 15.1hh. Icarus Flight’s debut will be the Freedom of the City Stakes for Week 1 before having another race during Week 2, the In Reality Stakes*.
Oh The Irony originally came from Intrepid Racing as a yearling, and will probably be the only horse we acquire from Intrepid Racing as who actually hands out their horses?Her debut will be in the January Maiden for Week 1.
Rising Wonder, younger half brother to Rise Me Gold. One of the first turf horses to ever come into our hands, everyone at KC Racing is eager to see how Rising Wonder will do in his debut year and the years to come. He’ll also be making his debut alongside Icarus Flight and Oh The Irony, but in the Knickerbocker Stakes before having a go at the Tropical Park Derby* for Week 3.
Look forward to seeing these former fuzzies out on the tracks next year!
Our favorite and founding colt that started it all back in 2015, Muggathugga overcame quite a few milestones this year. In January he finally broke his maiden as a maturing three year old in the Janvier Maiden. Eventually, he surpassed Grade Five and went on to Grade Four before finally ending the year as a Grade Three. He won his first HOTY race in the Tonalist Stakes* over at Battlestone Downs and placed third in the Pennsylvania Derby this year. “He’s a really good colt, spirited, but manageable. Out of all the horses here, he’s the easiest and the most pleasurable to work with. He’s the kinda horse that a lotta people want to train. In the distant future, I can definitely see him throwing some foals with pleasant dispositions.” says trainer John Murchison. Muggathugga will be continuing his career into 2017 as a four year old, the primary focus for him will be to get him settled in HOTY races and hopefully have him racing at the G1 level before his five year old season. He’ll be getting a pleasant start to the new year by racing in the Eupolio Derby to start him off before ending the month of January in the La Reve Derby.
Sylvanite! What a lovely filly this girl has turned out to be. She’s a really HOTY savvy filly and made a nice mark in the racing game for her three year old season. We have a lot of faith in this girl and that faith has gone a long way as Sylvanite was able to win the Maryland Derby, the last leg of the Turf Distance Series while placing third in the Virginia Derby and second in the California Derby of the same series. Although she fell incredibly short in her run for the Triple Tiara’s Acorn Stakes, she was able to secure a third place in the Wonder Where Stakes of the Canadian Triple Tiara. She’ll be going up against some of her former rivals such as Fire Goddess, Adrasteia and Animatia. She’s seen all these horses before, so we know she’ll be eager to challenge them yet again in the Breeder’s Cup Distaff*. We’ll be keeping her away from undercards in 2017 because she’s an incredibly competitive horse and loves an extra challenge. Her first race of the new year will be the Apple Blossom Handicap* during the second week of January.
A True Hero won his last race of the year during December Week Two and secured a win for the Renfro Stakes which puts him at Grade Two for the beginning of his four year old season once Year Seventeen begins. Hero came to us as a G4 earlier this year so this is quite a milestone on our part to be able to help this colt come as far as he has now. He ended the year rather pleasantly with a third place finish in the Eagleeye Derby, his first race as a G2 colt. He’ll get two or so full weeks off in preparation for the new season and we have hopes to steer him primarily towards HOTY races next year as he has the potential and pedigree to go farther than undercards. His first race of the new year will be at the end of January, the Sweet Victory Stakes.
Escape Artist has been a quiet racer for us, he doesn’t really shine spectacularly, but he isn’t a bad horse either. He’s two wins away from finally acquiring G2 status which is quite the feat as under Ripley Marsh’s ownership he had been benched from racing as a G5. Upon being taken up by KC Racing, the decision was made to put a saddle back on him. After some training and getting his head back into the game, Escape Artist was more than happy to get running again. He will end this year just as he did his two year old season in an HOTY race, this time the Breeder’s Cup Turf Sprint*. He’ll probably be the less HOTY experienced horse there, but last year he surprised all of us by defeating more experienced fillies last year at the End of Year Turf Sprint at Green Horse Fields. He’ll be returning to the undercards next year until he reaches G2, with his first race being the Brilliant Finish Stakes in January.
The competitive bay roan filly, Like A Lioness, is an odd horse. She’s been raced relatively lightly this year, so we hope that she’ll be racing a bit more often come next year. You can expect to see her in HOTY races next year as she didn’t do too badly last year in the HOTY races that she was entered in. She placed last in her last race of the year being the Chocochunk Derby. She’s an unusual horse and even head trainer John Murchison is having a hard time trying to figure out if she’s a strong HOTY contender as her race record says, or not as she has a hard time placing in undercards. Due to this her first race of the new year will be an undercard as John Murchison is quite hesitant to place her in any HOTY races regardless of the fact that she has done well in the past.
Two older fillies were acquired from Firestone Racing during the middle of 2016, one being Silent Heart. Silent Heart will be going into 2017 as a five year old and it will probably be her last year racing. As of right now, she is racing at the G2 level and needs three more wins until she hits the G1 level. If one were to look at her racing career they would realize that she had quite a rough start as a two year old, but has long since settled into her racing career. She’s a pretty solid filly with a great disposition and will likely be a great mother to her future foals come 2018 or 2019. Her last race of the year was the Honorable Stakes* where she placed last. She’ll be getting a month off to spend some much needed time in the pasture before starting back on the track in February.
Dark Maiden is the other horse acquired from Firestone Racing, a four year old dirt sprinter that will be five next year. She’s at the G3 level currently and will take a great deal of pushing if she is to hit the G1 level by the end of next year. She’s a fairly consistent racer, fortunately, and has a good track record with placing in HOTY races. Like her stablemate, Silent Heart, Dark Maiden will also be getting January off from racing before starting back on the track in February, her last race of the year was during the third week of December where she placed last in the End of Year Dirt Sprint. There are plans to breed her to Escape Artist when they both retire from the track and settle into their lives out to pasture.
The unruly Enrapture was acquired from Battlestone Downs and this filly has tried to take a bite out of four different people….during the first three days that she was at KCRS. During the times that we give our horses a break from the track we let them out to pasture and allow them to be horses, of course keeping the colts and fillies apart from one another. Enrapture, being on break with a few other horses at the time, just didn’t like the whole ‘being in a herd’ business and went into a biting and kicking frenzy. This resulted in us having to put Enrapture in her own pasture by her lonesome, just how she seems to like it apparently. This filly will finally race under our colors in January of next year and we had to actually hire a new jockey to handle her because she has tried to take a chunk out of every one of her current jockeys thus far. She’s a million dollar earning filly, sure, but it won’t cover any hospital or funeral bills. Enrapture, or fondly dubbed ‘Enni’ at times, ‘Nutcase’ in most cases will in her first race for KCRS for the Belle Victoire Derby*. Expect to see Enrapture sticking very close to the tracks in 2017, for her sake and the sake of the staff at KCRS.
Partyatthedisco made her debut this year and has almost surpassed her retired sister, Mardi Gras. Her last race of 2016 was the Island Fashion Stakes* where she placed last. She had a rather rough start to the year before finally settling into her own groove and winning her first HOTY race with the Autumn Cup*. Hopefully three weeks off and a couple of extra training regiments will get her back into tip top shape with her first race of the year being the Hot Spring Stakes. She’s almost three years old and is nearly at that seventeen point three hand mark, and she’s quite the looker as well.
Rise Me Gold was the lesser of two evils when we originally had Key West under our ownership. The filly has now gone from Maiden to G4 and hasn’t looked back since. She ended the year with a last place finish in the Joe O Farell Stakes* and the Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies*, the latte being a mistake and misjudgement on our part. Some horses just aren’t meant to be as HOTY savvy as others. Trainer John Murchison insisted we keep her to the undercards, so her first race of the new year will be the Addiction Stakes in January. We’d like to see her place a bit higher come next year and we hope to be able to direct her towards the Triple Tiara, but judging from the stern looks by John Murchison, that probably won’t be in her future.
We acquired Roussong as a trade for Key West. A well rounded colt who earned over $300,000 by the end of his two year old season. He will also be ending this year as a G4. He was able to secure several placings in HOTY races, winning the Alot-to-live-up-to Stakes* and third in the Jack Prince Juvenile* and Orchid Cup Colts*. He seems to be a nice contender for the many Triple Crown races, much more than Rise Me Gold is for the Triple Tiara but only time will tell as that time rapidly approaches yet again. Out of all of our 2016 2-year olds, Roussong is the only one that seems to have a thing for HOTY races, having ended the year with a second place finish in the Arizona Breeder’s Futurity* and a third place finish in the Blue Mountain Stakes*, losing the race to former KCRS horse, Key West. Roussong will be getting a week off before jumping back into the game for January Week 2 in an undercard, Gateway Derby as a test run before tackling the Middlient Derby* at the end of the month. After the Gateway Derby, the primary focus would be to practically glue him to HOTY races.
Lastly, you will also see a few horses make their debut next year on the track, this will include Icarus Flight, Oh The Irony, Louisiana Blues, Sweet Talker, Beyond Constellation and Rising Wonder. We’ve leased out all of our juveniles for 2017 except for Icarus Flight, Oh The Irony and Rising Wonder.
Icarus Flight, one of the smallest newcomers to our racing string standing at 15.1hh. Icarus Flight’s debut will be the Freedom of the City Stakes for Week 1 before having another race during Week 2, the In Reality Stakes*.
Oh The Irony originally came from Intrepid Racing as a yearling, and will probably be the only horse we acquire from Intrepid Racing as who actually hands out their horses?Her debut will be in the January Maiden for Week 1.
Rising Wonder, younger half brother to Rise Me Gold. One of the first turf horses to ever come into our hands, everyone at KC Racing is eager to see how Rising Wonder will do in his debut year and the years to come. He’ll also be making his debut alongside Icarus Flight and Oh The Irony, but in the Knickerbocker Stakes before having a go at the Tropical Park Derby* for Week 3.
Look forward to seeing these former fuzzies out on the tracks next year!
