From ‘Surreal’ Test Victory to Keeneland November: Kilwin on Offer Tuesday

[Wandering Eyes]

BBN Racing's Kilwin (Twirling Candy) recorded perhaps the most dramatic Grade I win of the year in August, falling to her knees at the start of the GI Test Stakes before coming from seemingly nowhere with a relentless rally down the lane to just her nose in front on the line. BBN Racing, looking to capitalize both on the combination of that Grade I win and an expected hot marketplace, will offer the filly as hip 223 through the Royal Oak Farm consignment during Tuesday's Book 1 session of the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.

“We are just thinking about whether this market is as hot as it seems to be and maybe we should see if we can maximize the price on her now while her Test performance is fresh in everybody's mind,” said BBN founding partner and racing manager Braxton Lynch.

Kilwin was acquired by the racing partnership for $225,000 at the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and quickly repaid that investment when winning the $1-million Untapable Stakes at Kentucky Downs in just her second start. She was second behind GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint contender Shisospicy in the GIII Mamzelle Stakes at Churchill Downs in May before moving to the main track for the first time to win the Leslie's Lady Stakes in Louisville. That effort earned the bay filly a trip to Saratoga.

“It was such a surreal feeling,” Lynch said of Kilwin's victory in the Test (video). “It was hard to see exactly what happened from where we were watching. We were disappointed that she was that far back and had seemingly come out of the gate very slowly. It wasn't until after the race that we found out that she went down on her knees and somehow Jose [Ortiz] stayed on. But I think it was about 10 to 15 seconds of, 'Well that was a waste of a trip to New York.' And then she gathered herself and you're kind of going well, she is catching them up, but I still had no idea that she was even going to hit the board until midway down the stretch. Then we could see she was flying and it was like, 'Oh my gosh, we might pick up a stakes placing.' The last five strides, we were just thinking, 'This is crazy.' Afterwards, I was thinking, wait a minute, am I cheering and we didn't win? Because I don't think that happened.”

Braxton Lynch leads Kilwin into Saratoga winner's circle | Sarah Andrew

Following her Test win, Kilwin returned to the Kentucky Downs turf only to be a well-beaten eighth in the Sept. 6 GII Music City Stakes.

“I don't know if you just want to call it a bounce after she had just put in such a big effort in New York,” Lynch said of the Music City effort. “And maybe she is better on dirt. That's the other conclusion that we came away with. She is two-for-two on dirt. As good as she was as a 2-year-old on the grass, I think she probably maybe always should have been on dirt.”

Kilwin was a supplemental entry to the November sale and will be offered as a racing or broodmare prospect.

“If she RNA's or something, we would definitely race her next year,” Lynch said. [Trainer] Rusty [Arnold] has every intention of trying to stretch her out next year. I think that was our plan if we do end up with her, we will probably try two turns. He doesn't see that that is going to be a problem for her.”

The first BBN Racing syndicate was formed in 2019 and the partnership has already developed a heady resume. Kilwin isn't even the group's first Grade I winner by Twirling Candy. The group's first iteration included 2019 GI Belmont Oaks winner Concrete Rose (Twirling Candy). Owned in partnership with Ashbrook Farm, the filly won six of seven starts–including four graded events–before selling for $1.95 million at the 2020 Keeneland November sale.

Other graded performers to carry the BBN colors are Hidden Stash (Constitution), who took the partners to the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby, Core Values (Honor Code), 2022 GII Clark Stakes winner Trademark (Upstart), Mo Stash (Mo Town), and Sweet Cherry Pie (Twirling Candy).

Lynch, who founded BBN Racing along with Brian Klatsky and Brendan O'Brien, credits the entire team with the group's success. Bo Bromagen serves as bloodstock consultant and, in addition to Arnold, BBN has horses with trainer Vicki Oliver.

“I think it's got to start with the team we have selecting yearlings,” Lynch said of the group's success. “We have–I wouldn't say a very limited budget, but we are cost conscious when we are at the sale. So we bid on a lot of horses, we get outbid on a lot of horses, and then we just try to find those horses that fit into our wheel house.”

She continued, “A lot of the credit has to go to our trainers. They have done a phenomenal job bringing these horses along and making it a fun experience for our partners. And I think, obviously, the third factor is that the purses in Kentucky have gone up every year since we have been buying. That's been a huge part of why we participate only with Kentucky-breds.”

The BBN Racing team was in action this fall putting together its fifth class of yearlings. Despite a competitive and record-breaking sales season, Lynch said she was happy with the group's purchases.

“We bought 10 yearlings this year,” she said. “And somehow or other, time will tell if we were smart or not, but we ended up with just about the exact same average price that we have always ended up with. Obviously, we did get outbid on several, but we found what we think are pretty good horses that might have fallen through the cracks. Like I said, time will tell.”

With those yearlings still waiting in the wings, Kilwin will take center stage for BBN Racing at Keeneland next week.

“I hate to call it 'a test the market' because I don't think that's fair,” Lynch said of Kilwin's trip through the sales ring. “The market being as strong as it is right now was probably the main factor of trying to do this.”

The single Book 1 session of the Keeneland November begins Tuesday at 2 p.m. Subsequent sessions begin at 10 a.m. and the auction concludes Nov. 11, with session eight immediately followed by session nine during the final day.

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