Attard says Kingsport will be back

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Whether it’s a sprint or a route, on turf or synthetic, it doesn’t seem to matter to Kingsport. The 6-year-old recorded his fourth stakes win in eight starts this season by taking the Sir Barton Stakes for the second year in a row at Woodbine on Dec. 2.

“He’s a nice old horse,” trainer Sid Attard said. “I’ve never seen him better. It’s too bad the season is finished.”

Attard said Kingsport has already shipped out of Woodbine for a winter vacation on the farm. Assuming all goes well over the winter, Attard anticipates Kingsport will be back in training for a 7-year-old campaign.

“I think we’ll bring him back for another year,” he said. “He’s in good shape. He’s not sore.”

Kingsport began his 2018 season with two fourth-place finishes – first in an allowance race on May 5, and then in the Steady Growth Stakes on June 16. His first stakes win of the year came sprinting in the Shepperton Stakes on July 8, when he famously ended Pink Lloyd’s 11-race win streak. Kingsport followed that win with a victory Aug. 29 in the Elgin Stakes over 1 1/16 miles on Tapeta.

From there, Kingsport tried graded stakes company in the Grade 3 Bold Venture Stakes over 6 1/2 furlongs on Sept. 15, finishing sixth. Following his start in the Bold Venture, Kingsport moved over to the grass, where he won the Bunty Lawless Stakes on Oct. 8. After another sixth-place finish back on synthetic in the Overskate Stakes on Oct. 27, Kingsport finished his season on a high note with the repeat win in the Sir Barton on Dec. 2.