Kimari, now racing for Coolmore, begins 5-year-old season
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – There had to be a temptation to retire Kimari. After all, the 5-year-old daughter of Munnings is a Grade 1 winner who was purchased last fall as a broodmare prospect of high value.
And yet, she’ll start an ambitious 2022 by running in the third race Thursday at Gulfstream Park.
“We plan to run her all year,” said Wesley Ward, who trains Kimari for Coolmore, the high-profile partnership that bought her for $2.7 million at The November Sale at Fasig-Tipton in Kentucky. “The first main goal after Thursday is a repeat in the Madison.”
It was her victory last April in the Grade 1 Madison at Keeneland that helps to make Kimari such a hot commodity. Trained by Ward for Ten Broeck Farm for her 11 starts, Kimari will prepare for the April 9 Madison by facing five other fillies and mares in a $62,000 allowance at 6 1/2 furlongs. Five timed workouts dating to late January precede her return to action.
Kimari, a winner of four other stakes, will be making her first start since finishing seventh at Del Mar off a seven-month layoff in the Nov. 6 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, a race won by the Ward-trained Golden Pal. A return to the Nov. 4-5 Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland is the ultimate year-end goal for her.
Kimari will break from post 3 and will be ridden by Joel Rosario, who is making just his second appearance of the 2021-22 championship meet while competing mostly at Oaklawn Park this winter. Rosario had two wins and two seconds from seven mounts here Jan. 29, Pegasus World Cup Day.
Rosario arrived in South Florida late Sunday from Saudi Arabia, where he rode Saturday. His agent, Ron Anderson, said the jockey will take off two scheduled mounts Friday at Oaklawn to stay here to ride the Fountain of Youth card Saturday, then return to Arkansas to ride there Sunday.
Rosario was a Gulfstream regular for six winters, with the most recent meet at which he had at least 100 mounts being in 2017-18.
Among the chief opposition Thursday for Kimari are Union Maiden and Liberty M D, two other 5-year-old mares returning from layoffs.
Union Maiden (post 1, Tyler Gaffalione) also has changed hands since her most recent start last fall and now goes for Brendan Walsh. The daughter of Union Rags has three wins from nine starts.
Liberty M D (post 5, Julien Leparoux) could factor into this when fresh, although she still may need more ground after winning two of her first three starts going longer.
A new and later starting time goes into effect this week at Gulfstream, with 1:05 p.m. Eastern now being first post. Race 3 goes at 2:01.
The 20-cent Rainbow 6 (races 4-9) starts some 30 minutes after the Kimari comeback. A gross pool guarantee of at least $150,000 is expected for Thursday in the Rainbow 6, which had its jackpot emptied Saturday by a forceout that drew more than $7.4 million in new wagers.