The KYD (Grade 1)- $5,000.000 Purse
CD- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Quarter on the Dirt
May 4, 2024
The KYD is one of those races that we all dream of winning when we first create our virtual stables, but few of us will ever experience the joy of grabbing the victory. This Saturday, the dreams of one trainer will be realized as they will either win this race for the first time or multiple times. This is the race that we are all thinking about when we breed a foal, hoping that all of the genetic combinations come out and give us a horse that can accomplish the goal. This year, many horses were put on the TC path, and a total of 93 horses would gain at least one point over the various prep races. It would take fifty points to get into the race, not counting the also eligibles, and our field of twenty is set. Congratulations to all of the trainers who were able to qualify at least one runner for the KYD this year. Many of you expect to be in the race, but nothing can ever be taken for granted.
The race has been run twenty times in the game, and we are still looking for our first Triple Crown winner. I am of the belief that it can happen here on HRP, but it is simply made to be very difficult, just as it should be. It’s been rare that we have even had a horse win the first two legs, and there has not been a lot of talk this year, at least that I have seen, where we sense that this may be the year, but perhaps it will come when we don’t anticipate it. As I write this introduction on Wednesday, there is presently a 38% chance of rain at CD on Saturday, but that number has gone down a little bit from where it stood on Tuesday. Hopefully, unless a trainer really wants that off track for their horse, we have good weather for the race, and it seems to be trending in that direction. But we all know that sometimes the virtual weather can do something unexpected.
Last year, Allinthegate added his name to the history books and became a KYD winning trainer thanks to Quiet Return, from post #17, edging out Apache Rise Again to take home the victory. Quiet Return went on to finish second in the PRK and did not take part in the BEL. He has not won since the KYD but has consistently been hitting the board time and time again: third in the Travers, second in the BC Classic and third in the Pegasus World Cup are just a selection of the top races that he has done well in without winning. Now, it is time to take a look at our field this year, as twenty horses will head to the starting gate to compete for a $5,000.000 purse. That’s the highest amount that we have ever seen in this race, and I want to give a shout out to the game for raising this purse to match the increase that was seen in real life. Sure, we expected it to happen, but this increase, as well as the other increases on KYD weekend do come at a cost to them, so thanks to support for stepping up with that. Now, let’s meet the field!
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1- Im Sorry So Sorry (Martyparty, ridden by F Pennington)- Martyparty was able to qualify two into the KYD, and this gelding by Timber Rattler finished 14th on the KYD leaderboard. A second-place finish at the SA Derby in April is what put him over the top in terms of points, but he had been a very consistent performer in the preps that he had run in. Overall, he has won four of nine, with those victories coming at the end of his two-year-old season in the Grey Stakes and the Remsen. Since he has not won a race this year, this is not horse that gets talked about much as being a top contender here, but his level of consistency shows that he could play a spoiler role here.
2- Good Knights (Our Athletes, ridden by F Geroux)- Our Athletes returns to the KYD for the first time since 2019 when he saddled Red Cup for the race. Ironically, the race was also specifically on May 4th that year. Good Knights was one of the final horses to qualify into the race, but he is another horse that has actually been a very consistent performer. He would finish second in both the Grade 3 Lecomte and Grade 2 Rebel this Spring, before ending up fifth in the AR Derby. He’s only actually won twice, with ten points coming from the Gun Runner, points that may have kept Fun Runner out of this race (he’s an also eligible). F Geroux has been with him every step of the way once on the KYD trail.
3- Power Grid (Fractious, ridden by F Prat)- Three horses for Fractious in this year’s KYD, with Power Grid picking up 75 points over the course of the prep races he was entered into. In March, he would win the TAM Derby, which is one of his five career victories. He started off his career as good as one could ever ask, grabbing wins in his first four starts. That stretch was highlighted by a win right here at CD in the Grade 3 Street Sense. Since then, he has actually been a little hit and miss, which the trainer hopes does not become a trend. Ran fifth last time out in the BG Stakes, which is certainly not a bad result, but he never really threatened the winner.
4- Excoriator (Jerry Garcia Racing, ridden by L Saez)- This should be seen as one of the top horses in the race, as after all he is a perfect three-for-three this year, a stretch which helps make the disastrous Remsen a complete afterthought. His winning streak this year began out west in the San Vicente, and after that, it was the Holy Bull. That, incidentally, is the only time that L Saez has been in the saddle. Last time out, he won the Grade 3 Ruby Stakes at TP, and all of that adds up to finishing third in points with 120. Jerry Garcia Racing has been around forever in this game, but still lacks a KYD win, so it would be a popular win, for sure, if he did so here. This is Jerry’s first KYD runner since Ned Isakoff in 2016.
5- Test The Waters (Mb Stables, ridden by I Ortiz Jr)- Mb Stables has his usual three in the KYD as he looks for his third win in the race and first since Howl Of The Hound in 2021. Test The Waters is a good example of what gelding a horse can do as he didn’t really seem to be going anywhere before the snip while being entered in graded races. Afterwards, he turned it on, hitting the board in five of six races, while being fourth in the other. He would win the Withers with a wire to wire effort and comes into this race off a second-place finish in the FL Derby. This isn’t the best horse that Mb has in the race, but he cannot be overlooked.
6- Fire Chase (Fractious, ridden by M Franco)- After a couple of duds to begin his career, Fire Chase got red hot, putting together a four-race winning streak that included the $225.000 Brown right here at CD and then the $300.000 Smarty Jones down at OP. That streak got snapped in the Fountain Of Youth, but he is preparing to start a new one after capturing the SA Derby last month. Of the three horses that Fractious has in the race, Fire Chase picked up the most points with 115, and he seems to be the trainer’s best chance to win the race.
7- Jurassic Park (Smokey Stover, ridden by R M Hernandez)- Two years ago, Smokey Stover became a KYD winning trainer thanks to the effort to Gigabyte but he would not be able to qualify any horses into the race last year. Jurassic Park ended up being the only horse of the trainer that earned any KYD points, which is a surprise when you consider the breeding stock that he owns. This colt by Solar System is lightly raced in comparison to the others, with just five starts, and he did most of his running at OP. In late February, he would win the Grade 2 Rebel at that track and would also pick up points in the other two races there: fourth in the Southwest and third in the AR Derby.
8- Bad Debt (Hippyheart, ridden by A Beschizza)- Over his eight career races, Bad Debt has never finished worse than fourth. In that time, he has three wins, with the only stake victory being the Grade 3 Southwest at OP. Otherwise, it was his overall consistency which allowed him to finish 18th on the leaderboard with 57 points. His last race, however, was the Wood Memorial, and while he did run fourth, it was the first time that he was soundly beaten. Despite that, the trainer was certainly smiling after a great work on the 27th, so Bad Debt should be able to rebound from that race.
9- Winned (Team 7 Illusions, ridden by D Cohen)- It’s good to see a horse live up to his hype, as that is something that Winned has done. If you throw out the Withers, which should be safe to do, then we are talking about a horse that has won five of six races, including the BG Stakes last time out. That victory came just two weeks after he had run in the Ruby Stakes and finished third. He’s had a full month to rest since then, so is undoubtedly ready to roll off his best effort here. Team 7 Illusions is another one of those trainers who has been in the game for an eternity and has not won the KYD.
10- Doc Rivers (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by D E Centeno)- When Doc Rivers ran in the LA Derby last time out, he went into the race on a streak of three straight fourth place efforts. That was not going to be enough to get him into this race, although he was competitive enough in them to get his final shot. In the LA Derby, he came from being eleven lengths off the lead at six furlongs to rally and win. That’s a style he has taken a liking too, and that may bode very well for him as he runs ten furlongs here. No one can feel that a lead is safe in the stretch until they take a look back and find out where Doc Rivers is, because he’s likely going to make another big run.
11- Backroad Bounty (Aer Stables, ridden by D Davis)- Things did not go right for Backroads Bounty in the FL Derby, but that is the only blemish on his record to this point. Otherwise, he had a very successful prep race season in terms of finishing in the money and accumulating points. His biggest win was the SUN Derby, from post 11, in February. Also, after the FL Derby dud, Backroad Bounty showed up for the Grade 3 Lexington and finished second, from post 11, in a tight photo. He doesn’t get here without those ten points. Can’t get away from post 11, but it’s led to two of his best career races before.
12- Poison Arrow (Mb Stables, ridden by R L Moore)- More than likely, Poison Arrow will be the favorite for this race and maybe he should be talked about as a TC Contender. But in order to do that, you have to win the first leg, so we can’t get ahead of ourselves. Mb Stables picked up this gelding by little known sire Inside Draw for $250.000 in private sales and has won all four races with him since. That streak began in the LA Futurity, but he’s been unstoppable this year, winning the Withers, the Fountain Of Youth, and then the AR Derby. That made him the top points producer with 180. Don’t be concerned if he is not near the lead early as he seems to like it near the back at the beginning and then making his move in the stretch. He’s only going to like the tenth furlong, too.
13- Ocean Storm (Greyfriars Stable, ridden by Jam Rodriguez)- After starting our very successfully as a two year old and making the BC Juvenile, Ocean Storm began to struggle and that may have prompted his prior trainer, Riggins Racing, to sell him in private sales. Greyfriars Stable would pick him up for $250.000 but did not have immediate success. He struggled again in the TAM Derby but turned everything around a month later in the SA Derby. In that, he finished second, missing the head bob at the wire to Fire Chase. Ended up 15th in points with 64.
14- Walk Em Down (Mb Stables, ridden by T Gaffalione)- This one has only made four starts in his career, and had a rather unconventional start. Before winning a race, he was entered into the $100.000 Allison Derby where he placed third. With that strong performance him, Mb Stables would only increase his class level, entering him in the Grade 2 Risen Star and that is where Walk Em Down would break his maiden. Followed that up nicely by running second in the LA Derby where he was narrowly defeated by Doc Rivers. The best is yet to come for Walk Em Down, and perhaps that comes here.
15- Fujisan (Alydar Stables, ridden by S X Bridgmohan)- A late arrival to the TC chase, as he was in maiden races up until March. Unlike Walk Em Down, who simply bypassed that condition, Fujisan stayed in those races until finally breaking through at SA. Off of that win, Alydar Stables, like many other trainers, took a shot at one of the April 100-point races hoping that his horse would step up and pick up the win. Fujisan did that in the Wood Memorial at AQU, coming from behind to ultimately win by two lengths, pulling away from the competition there. Now, he’s here and ready to build on that win.
16- Baffert (Royalty Stables, ridden by J R Velazquez)- At one time, Baffert looked like he might be the favorite for this race after an excellent two-year-old campaign that culminated in a win at the BC Juvenile. But the KYD isn’t won in November, and as a three-year-old, Baffert is still looking for his first win. He didn’t show me much in the Grade 2 Rebel when I covered that, although he did make a late bid to work his way forward from fifth. As it turns out, that’s his worst race of the year, and he had the type of race last month in the AR Derby that can remind everyone of his potential. Everyone will be checking out on where he is in the stretch, because whether or not he gets there is one thing, but we do know, he’s going to make a charge.
17- Crickets (Martyparty, ridden by A A Gallardo)- Crickets was the last one to get in, thanks to the 50 points that he earned by finishing second in the BG Stakes. That was his graded debut, he had a lot of experience in ungraded races, especially those with the LA-bred condition. He’s won a couple of those races, including the $100.000 LA Futurity on New Years Eve. We are still looking to see how he can establish himself against the elite of the division, but you have to like how he always seems to run well wherever he asked and on whatever surface.
18- Team Leader (Fractious, ridden by P Lopez)- This one showed some promise as a two-year-old, but he did not show that he could one of the leaders of this stable to get into the KYD until after he was gelded. Two days after the snip, Team Leader finished a respectable fourth in the Grade 2 LA Futurity, a result which set him in motion for greater success as a three-year-old. At SA, he would win both the Lewis Stakes and the San Felipe, with the latter coming in the mud with a highly impressive stretch performance. But when he was moved east, to OP for the AR Derby, he simply did not show up. That can be a throw out at any other time but heading into the KYD and stacking him up against this quality of opposition, that’s not really something that you want to see.
19- Blazing (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by Jo Dominguez)- I don’t know if you can quite call him a sleeper here, but he doesn’t seem as though he will be one of the first horses mentioned when we talk about the favorites to win the race. He is another late arrival to the TC chase, not even running in any prep races until the FL Derby at the end of the March. He had won two out of three before that and was appealing horse for the FL Derby when he ran. At the time, it was looking like Maxmillion Farm might get shut out of the KYD, and he’s too good for that. Blazing delivered for him with a strong run and seems as though he will take a liking to the tenth furlong. The post draw may not have done him any favors, it would appear, but in this race, there are many examples of horses having success from the outside, so I would not be overly concerned about that.
20- Awad (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by J Lezcano)- There have been multiple winners from post #20 in the past here in the KYD, so the trainer doesn’t have to be that discouraged about his fortunes from the post draw. Awad had a strong two-year-old season, cashing a check in the Hopeful and Champagne before ultimately running fourth in the BC Juvenile. Prep races were not going well for him this year, but D J C stuck with it, and it paid off two months ago in the Gotham where he came from behind to get the win. He didn’t run anywhere last month, but it didn’t matter in the long run.
Prediction: In covering many of these prep races over the year, one horse that has really caught my attention is Excoriator, as the Remsen is obviously a throw out. It would also be nice to see Jerry Garcia Racing get the long overdue KYD victory. But then you have Poison Arrow, who has simply done nothing wrong, and Winned, who is backing up the hype surrounding him. Additionally, I like Blazing as one that is just beginning to hit his best stride. Good Knights could very well be a sleeper here. Most of these, in my opinion, are more than capable of winning this race. I’m going to go against the likely favorite (Poison Arrow) here, just to do it. My picks: 4-9-12-19
— NS
Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES, TC 2024, THE TRIPLE CROWN
