Vics, a horse owned and raced in the U.S. by the Korean Racing Authority, has been exported to begin his stallion career in South Korea, making a bit of history in the process. The 4-year-old son of Flatter is the first horse campaigned exclusively in the U.S. by Korea’s governing body overseeing Thoroughbred racing, breeding and purchasing to enter stud in the country at the conclusion of his racing career. Korea has been an active buyer of U.S. stallions and prospects in the past, but Vics represents a more organic approach to developing future Korean stallions with American bloodlines. Racing under the name KRA Stud Farm, the operation maintains a small stable of horses purchased in the U.S. and kept there to run, combined with some exported Korean-breds. Horses of note campaigned by the KRA in the U.S. include Grade 2-placed J.S. Choice, the talented sprinter Mr. Crow, and K Wave, who finished fourth in last year’s Grade 3 Mr. Prospector Stakes at Gulfstream Park. :: DRF BREEDING LIVE: Real-time coverage of breeding and sales Ben Colebrook trained Vics and conditions six runners for the KRA. He has been working with the group for about a year and a half after being introduced by Kentucky-based bloodstock agent Jun Park, a Korean native. “The idea is to try to make stallions in the U.S. and send them back to Korea instead of trying to buy them at a premium after they’re made,” Colebrook said. “I’m hoping things can click and they can make a few studs in the process, send them back to Korea, and keep everybody happy.” Vics was purchased by the KRA for $50,000 at the 2015 Keeneland September yearling sale. He was the first horse the group sent to Colebrook, and he logged three career starts, all in 2017. After finishing off the board in his debut at Turfway Park, he moved to Indiana Grand where he finished second on the main track, then was runner-up again in his final start, a turf sprint. “He had quite a bit of speed,” Colebrook said. “He was more of a turf sprinter, I think. Unfortunately, he had a little knee issue that prevented him from being as good as he probably was meant to be. He ran two races that might have been good enough to win, and he just got a little unlucky both times.” :: Get breeding & sales news, Beyer info, and more delivered right to your email! Vics is out of the winning Political Force mare Callmenancy, who is the dam of one winner from two runners. The extended family includes Grade 2 winner Dancinginherdreams, Grade 3 winner Siebe, Qatari Group 2 winner Tip Two Win, and English Group 1-placed stakes winner Due Diligence. With Vics off to stud, Colebrook will focus on developing new stallion prospects for the KRA. Colebrook has some established runners that are likely targets for stud duty upon their retirement, but one young horse he singled out for the future was Vistal, a New York-bred Tapizar colt who most recently finished second in a Tampa Bay maiden special weight on Feb. 22. “He’s still a little green,” the trainer said. “He’s really fast, so we’ll keep him sprinting and hopefully he’ll have a nice little career. He ran a pretty promising race the last time, he just got a little green in the stretch and lugged in a bit looking at the crowd. Down the road, I’d like to try sprinting him on the turf, but for now, we’re keeping him on the dirt.”