Stable notes for the week of August 16th

Another busy week with 3 in at Monmouth Park and 3 at Penn National and when the dust cleared, we had two 2^nds, a 3^rd, two 4^ths and a 5^th. It was not as good as we had hoped for, but by no means was it a washout either. Plus, the news comes that Titanium Jo has one more win than we thought (seriously, see below!).

First up, Thursday August 13th was a solid debut for Sonny’s Pharoah at Penn National. She broke nicely from the outside, settled in 5^th early, moved up on the far turn and finished a well beaten 4^th of 8 runners, well ahead of the rest of the field. The top two finishers were very nice fillies and the time of the race was very fast. Trainer Mark Salvaggio had stated before the race that she needed one or two more works to be totally fit and this race would be a starting point for her. After the race, jockey Clinton Potts said that she ran much better than he had expected from her when he’d worked her in the mornings and he really liked her. Assuming she improves, as most horses do off her debut, we should be a very good shape with this super bargain priced filly by the hottest sire in the country, Pioneerof the Nile. Only Kenwood can find a filly by a sire averaging $300,000 this year for $22,000 at a select sale! Of course we bought her BEFORE 'Pharoah' won the Triple Crown, we liked him all along. We felt a filly this nice (and we bought two by his sire!) was worth it as an individual, and that being by the same sire as a potential super horse was the icing on the cake.

We had planned to run two horses on Friday at Penn National and the one that ran, did great (below). The night began with PJ’s Enigma living up to her name by (literally) flipping in the paddock and having to be scratched. Mark Salvaggio said a horse fly started bugging her and she just lost it, flipping over twice. Fortunately, she and the staff are all ok, but she’s a nervous, unpredictable filly who can meltdown at the drop of a hat. Hopefully, she’ll behave better next time. Mark Salvaggio worked her himself the morning after the race and she worked terrific (below). She’s physically fit and sharp and none the worse for wear from her mental meltdown. Coming off an excellent 2^nd at Penn a couple of weeks ago, she’s poised for a big effort next time, IF she can keep it together mentally.

In the second race for us Friday evening, at Penn National, the news was a LOT better, as This Quay Home returned from a freshening at the farm after several horrible races at tougher tracks and ran huge. She rocketed to the lead and held it until the final 70 yards, before giving way grudgingly just before the wire to finish a very game 2^nd, beaten less than 1 length for the win. She looked horrible when we sent her off to the farm for a rest, thin and miserable and clearly in need of time off. Mark babied her, since she to came to train with him at Penn, to keep her fresh and happy. Clearly, she needed the race coming into it off just three easy works. That almost surely cost her the win here, but she was not claimed. We have a nice, fresh filly, who with this one under her belt, should be very tough to beat at this level next time out.

On Saturday, at Monmouth Park, we began with Proven Warrior, making his Kenwood Racing debut off the claim last month out of a race, where he ran poorly as the huge favorite. We won a 5 way shake for him that day. As bad as he ran (5^th and getting out the entire way), most of the other people who dropped a claim slip for him were glad they didn’t get him, as evidenced by the fact that absolutely nobody tried to claim him for the same price today. But, trainer Steve DiMauro did a fine job working with him and he ran great in his debut for us today, sitting in 2^nd after breaking slowly. While he never was able to catch the winner, he held on very gamely for 2^nd in a super-fast run race for the level. Off this effort, he appears to have been a good buy and we think he’s sitting on a win next time with a little better break.

Next up, at Monmouth, was Video Mov, who we had claimed back for $12,500 after losing him for $20,000 two races earlier. His new owners were unable to win with him, despite dropping him down in class, but we felt for $12,500 he was a real bargain and were glad to have him back in our barn. When the ideal $16,000 claiming race failed to go twice, we decided to take a shot in a $25,000 claiming race at Monmouth Park, which came up very tough for the level. While he finished 4^th, it was truly a super effort, as he shot to the front early on his own, battled with another horse for most of the race, and finally tired in deep stretch, but still only missed winning the race by just over 1 length. Off this effort, he clearly is worth more than we paid to claim him back and placed just a hair lower ($20,000, $16,000 if we can get a race like that to go), he’s going to be very tough to beat next time out.

The disappointment of the day at Monmouth, was Huamantla, who got an absolutely perfect trip sitting in 4^th off a contested pace, against a very similar field to the one she beat in her debut last time. She moved into 2^nd on the far turn, looking like she was about to roll by the leader, and then suddenly slowed to a walk in the stretch to finish 5^th. Jockey Daniel Centeno said he had a ton of horse all the way and suddenly she totally lost all action. She came back fine so far, no obvious reason for the dull finish, so we’ll chalk this one up to a poor race and look for a rebound next time.

Finally Boardwalk Run was a closing 3^rd at Penn National, coming from dead last, as is her style to finish just over 1 length behind the winner and just over 1 length in front of the 5^th place horse in a blanket finish. She didn’t run badly. She’s been a model of consistency all year, with 5 in-the-money finishes from 6 starts, but the jockey and trainer both felt she didn’t care for a very loose, dusty track on a hot night that might have dulled her closing kick just a bit. She came back fine, as well.

Now to the story of Titanium Jo, who had run 2^nd in her last start at Penn National on July 10^th, a well beaten 2^nd, to be exact. But, this week, the news came that the winner was officially disqualified post-race for a medication violation (not an illegal drug, a minute overage of a legal medication, but that’s the way the screwed up system works right now) and she was officially declared the winner. Yes, that means we get the winner’s share of the purse, and yes, she’s officially an allowance winner now. With her win, our record now stands at 12 wins, 16 seconds and 10 thirds from 78 starts in 2015, just a hair under the 20%/50% gold standard but after starting off at 8%/35% for January – April, we’ve been on an absolute tear since. We’re confident this will end up to be very good year for Kenwood.

Our super busy month continues next week, with possible entries at Monmouth Park for JW Racer in his career debut and Titanium Jo in the Monmouth Oaks next weekend, plus perhaps Big Apple Brit and Fuego Mi Amor at Penn National and Jersey Jules at Saratoga Friday. A bunch of our horses worked on Saturday morning at Monmouth (below) and all did fine. JW Racer received his gate card and worked really well. He’s ready for his debut and has made real progress recently. After looking like a dud a month ago, he’s looking like a serious runner now, which shows how babies can develop. They’re racehorses, not racecars! Sky Ace is still developing slowly, much as we expected when we bought him. Awesome Papa Al had a nice work. Both Mackinaw Pharoah and Hardrainsgonnafall worked well, too. Titanium Jo looked great in her final prep, for a possible start in the Monmouth Oaks next weekend.

The Kenwood team had a super week in Saratoga. The TOBA (Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association) Thoroughbred Ownership seminar on Wednesday, August 12th, was a rousing success, with both Robb Levinsky and Allen J. Katz as featured speakers. Everyone loved our front row box seats for some fantastic racing at one of the most lovely tracks in one of the most lovely towns in the world.

Kenwood Racing is growing by leaps and bounds! Thanks for your wonderful support!

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Here's some recent workouts....