$950,000 purchase King Fury rewards with Lexington Stakes win

Trainer Ken McPeek went to $57,000 to acquire a Smart Strike colt at the 2005 Keeneland September yearling sale. That colt turned out to be Curlin, who went on to win two Horse of the Year titles while trained by Steve Asmussen.

Some 14 years later, with Curlin solidly established as a prominent sire in Kentucky and attracting top-class mares, McPeek zeroed in on a son of the stallion out of Grade 1 winner Taris at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga selected yearling sale. It was more of a stretch this time, as King Fury sold for $950,000.

“It’s the most I ever spent at auction,” McPeek said. “I’ve got this history of 30 grand, or 50 . . . maybe I’ll hit a million next time.”

King Fury is doing his best to add to the sales bankroll by living up to his price tag. The colt, trained by McPeek for Fern Circle Stables and Three Chimneys, earned his first graded stakes triumph with a 2 3/4-length score in the Grade 3 Lexington Stakes on Saturday at Keeneland.

The Lexington was the 3-year-old debut for King Fury, who won the Street Sense Stakes last October at Churchill Downs, but finished off the board in three graded stakes attempts.

“He needed to get bigger and stronger,” McPeek said. “He’s gone from 2 to 3 like a pro.

“He’s not quite as big as Curlin. He doesn’t have the structure, the size, the massiveness that Curlin has, but he’s very well-made.”

King Fury is the first foal for Taris, a Flatter mare who won five graded stakes, including the Grade 1 Humana Distaff in 2016 at Churchill Downs. She was third in the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.