Preakness: McKathan puts on his trainer hat for Fenwick

Kevin McKathan’s name does not appear in the past performances of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, Hall of Famers Silver Charm and Silverbulletday, and dual classic winner Real Quiet. But he has been integral to the success of those horses and many others.

McKathan and his late brother J.B., sons of legendary Florida horseman Luke McKathan, launched McKathan Brothers Training Center in Ocala, Fla., in 1989, specializing in the breaking and training of young racehorses as well as selling and purchasing them. They have sourced or trained the aforementioned champions as well as many other successful runners.

“It’s been the experience of a lifetime just to put my hands on those kinds of horses,” Kevin McKathan said.

:: Get Preakness Betting Strategies by for exclusive wagering insight, contender analysis, and more

Now, McKathan, who has continued the business after the sudden death of J.B. in 2019, has his hands on Fenwick. The Curlin colt, owned by Villa Rosa Farm and Harlo Stable, is the first horse he has trained on the racetrack in more than three decades – he took down his shingle when they launched the business – and will give him a classic starter in his own name in Saturday’s Preakness Stakes.

“There’s two or three horses in here that are going to be very hard to outrun, but the rest of them – I felt like he deserved a shot,” McKathan said. “The owners are excited. I’m not gonna say it’s a once-in-a-lifetime shot, but it’s a shot.”

McKathan purchased Fenwick as a yearling on behalf of Jeremiah Rudan’s Villa Rosa. They intended to sell him as a 2-year-old, but Rudan elected to withdraw the colt from the sale and campaign him.

Fenwick, after getting his early lessons from McKathan, was initially sent to trainer Steve Asmussen, who made him an early nominee for the Triple Crown. But the colt was well beaten in his first four starts.

“Every time he ran, something happened – gets stopped, gets checked, gets run over, bites his tongue,” McKathan said. “It was just one thing after another.”

Rudan sent the colt back to the McKathan farm in Ocala, Fla., for a thorough physical going-over and a mental reset.

“We gave him a couple weeks out, turned him out, got the sun on his back, and just let him enjoy himself for a couple weeks,” McKathan said.

After that break, Fenwick returned to the races on March 12 at Tampa Bay Downs with trainer David Fisher, and broke his maiden with a front-running 5 1/4-length score over Grade 1-placed Commandperformance. Fenwick never got clear sailing in the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, and was last of 11. With no Kentucky Derby points, Fenwick had no chance to get into the field. So Rudan pointed him for the Preakness. Since McKathan would be accompanying the colt to Baltimore, Rudan decided to run the horse with McKathan as trainer.