Hot Fudge after winning the Correction (Susie Raisher)
NYRA Press Office
OZONE PARK, N.Y.— Thoroughbred owner Earl Silver, the “E” in KEM Stables, has been relishing a string of recent success in partnership with longtime friends Kenny Fishbein and Michael Eiserman.
The talented Hot Fudge earned her third consecutive stakes score for the partnership in Saturday’s $100,000 Correction at Aqueduct Racetrack, while graded stakes-winner Honor Marie has his owners “Derby Dreaming” as he targets the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby on March 23 at Fair Grounds.
“We are all octogenarians, and we have known each other for as many years as you can imagine,” Silver said, with a laugh. “I started out in the 1980s and we’ve been doing this together off and on doing pinhooking and breeding, but mostly racing, for about five or ten years.”
The partnership has enjoyed a tremendous run of form from the 5-year-old Hot Fudge, who captured the six-furlong Correction in a thrilling photo finish with Kant Hurry Love, defeating her familiar foe by a narrow margin for the second time in a stakes this winter at the Big A.
Ridden by Kendrick Carmouche, the Liam’s Map bay rolled home down the lane after stalking a strong pace set by a runaway Quick Munny and took dead aim at the lead to the outside of Kant Hurry Love, who took command at the eighth pole. Hot Fudge found more with every stride over the muddy and sealed footing to get her nose down just in time and complete the course in 1:10.99. She earned an 86 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort.
“She seems to know where the finish line is, but not much more than that. She doesn’t make it easy on us,” Silver said, with a laugh. “Usually, I don’t ascribe human qualities to horses, but it seems like she’s got a nose for the finish line. The jockey got off and told us she knows and put her nose down just in time.”
Hot Fudge has proven well worth the wait for her connections. The $235,000 purchase at the 2021 OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training debuted in July of that year for conditioner Linda Rice, whose nephew Adam Rice saddled the mare on Saturday as she serves a two-week suspension. Hot Fudge graduated at second asking before finishing off-the-board in the Grade 1 Frizette and earning her first stakes placing when second on the turf in the Stewart Manor that November at Belmont Park to close out her juvenile campaign.
Hot Fudge was then away from the races for more than a year, and returned triumphantly last January with a neck score in a six-furlong allowance sprint at the Big A. Since then, she has won 6-of-8 starts, including the Garland of Roses and Interborough at Aqueduct. The Correction was her fifth consecutive score dating to an optional claiming conquest in June at Belmont.
“We thought when we bought her that she had a lot of talent,” said Silver. “It took us a long time – she had various ailments and was off the track for more than a year, but that was probably to her benefit. She’s come back with a vengeance, and I give all the kudos to Linda for managing her career as she has. She gave her all the time off she needed and put her in the right races.”
With her strong string of exciting stakes victories, Hot Fudge will now likely turn her attention to a return to graded company in the Grade 3, $175,000 Distaff sprinting seven furlongs on April 6 at the Big A.
“We’re hopeful she can go into graded stakes now, which is what the plan is,” said Silver. “She came out of this race well and the plan is for her to go to the Distaff. To me, she seems like she could use six and a half furlongs or more, and she could go even a mile. I think she’ll perform even better.”
While Hot Fudge lies a strong contender in the older filly and mare sprint division, her owners also have high hopes for sophomore colt Honor Marie, an exciting prospect at a time of year when all owners hope to be competitive in the division.
Trained by Whit Beckman, Honor Marie has Silver and the other partners in KEM daring to think of roses on the First Saturday in May as he prepares to make a splash on the Road to the Kentucky Derby in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby.
The Honor Code bay, owned by the KEM partners, Ribble Farms and Daniel Fishbein, looks to make amends from a fifth-place finish in the Grade 2 Risen Star on February 17 at the New Orleans oval where he rallied from 11th-of-12 and went eight-wide in the stretch to put in a mild bid under Rafael Bejarano. Honor Marie earned five Kentucky Derby qualifying points for the effort, adding to the 10 he received for his two-length last-to-first score in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club in November at Churchill Downs.
“Hot Fudge is the best horse we have, but Honor Marie is on the Derby trail and we are looking forward to that,” said Silver. “We were fortunate enough to be able to buy into him just before the Risen Star and that was a tough race for him. But, we weren’t discouraged and thought he ran well considering the circumstances. We’re very hopeful if we get the right kind of race for him that he’ll do better in the Louisiana Derby.”
For Silver, a lifelong involvement in horse racing has provided many thrills, but none as elusive and fulfilling as the hope of a run in the Kentucky Derby.
“Oh, it’s incredible, especially at our ages,” Silver said, with a laugh. “It’s well worth the wait, and we’re having a good time.”
