Kilwin on top in the Untapable (Courtney Snow/Past The Wire)
By Mike Kane – Kentucky Downs
FRANKLIN, Ky.— BBN Racing’s Kilwin rallied from far back and finished with resolve Sunday to win the $1 million Untapable Stakes by a half-length at Kentucky Downs.
Rusty Arnold trains the 2-year-old Twirling Candy filly, who is perfect after two career starts. She debuted at Ellis Park on July 27 with a stalking and pouncing approach in a 5 ½-furlong maiden special weight race. In the Untapable she was 10th of 12, 6 ¾ lengths off the :22.10 seconds first quarter time set by Shezafunkydrummer. After a half-mile that Shezafunskydrummer reached in :45.31, she was 11th, some 7 ¼ lengths back. With a wide move under Jose Lezcano she began to move into contention and was 4 ½ lengths behind entering the stretch and starting to zoom past the competition.
“I thought she’d be a little closer to the pace, laying right off of it, got farther back than I thought,” Arnold said. “But it worked out in the end. He said she didn’t break as sharp as we’d thought. Then she settled. This is a funny course, and some of them will do that. But the result was great.”
Shezafunskydrummer ran a bit greenly in the final eighth, survived an inquiry, finished second, a half-length in front of Abientot. Civetta was fourth.
Kilwin, who reached the wire in 1:15.50, was sent sent off as the 5-2 favorite and paid $7.36.
#8 Kilwin closes strong to win the Untapable S. at Kentucky Downs under Jose Lezcano for trainer Rusty Arnold!
— TwinSpires Racing (@TwinSpires) September 8, 2024
#TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/Ejt29VGrCI
“Rusty told me she was a very nice filly and had done everything well and working good,” Lezcano said. “First time this course, you don’t know what to expect and she ran very professionally when I asked her. At the sixteenth pole, I thought I was going to get there. At the eighth pole, she was really running. I tipped her out and she found her best. It was a very good race for her and a very good effort. Very happy with her.”
Braxton Lynch, the managing partner of BBN Racing said Kilwin has been considered a top prospect by her group.
“She’s been a nice filly all along,” she said. “We liked her, Rusty liked her. She came to us so well mentally. You could just see her in the paddock just watching everything, kind of taking it all in. The ride Jose gave, it gave us all a heart attack. I think he knew what he had the whole time. He knew he just had to get an open path, and once he did, she just took off.”
Kilwin, bred by Gilder-Schwarz Farms, is out of the Blame mare Spanish Star. She is the younger half-sister of Just Basking, by Arrogate, who finished third in the Alabama (G1) on August 17 at Saratoga Race Course. Her 5-year-old half-brother One Timer, by Trappe Shot, has competed art Kentucky Downs three times. He won the 2022 Franklin-Simpson Stakes (G2), was second in the Ainsworth Turf Sprint Stake in 2023 and was sixth in the Ainsworth on Saturday.
Lynch said the BBN partners were well aware of the female family and enjoyed the way Just Basking performed in the Alabama.
“We had watched One Timer for a long time. We had run against him a bunch over the last two years, so we had a lot of respect for him,” she said. “When we saw the filly in the sale, that was one of the indicators, and of course Just Basking hadn’t even run yet. So that was a complete bonus. She comes from a good farm, and all the pieces came together. We’ve had tons of lucky with Twirling Candy with Concrete Rose (multiple stakes-winner).”
Completing the order of finish: Give Life, She’s All Charm, Cotillard, Viggiedal, Winfinity, Ultima Grace, Unchained Elaine and Dreamgirl.
