Reed Kan proving a fine namesake so far

Owner and trainer Phil Combest paid homage to his father, longtime south Florida trainer Reed Combest, by naming a 2-year-old Kantharos colt he bred Reed Kan. And so far, it appears Reed Kan really can run.

Making his turf debut, Reed Kan went postward a 21-1 outsider in Sunday’s first race and won like a 1-2 shot. He led throughout a 2 1/2-length victory in the optional-claiming dash. He received an 88 Beyer Speed Figure, high for a 2-year-old at this stage of the season, and especially so for a late foal who won’t actually turn 3 until May. The win was the second in four starts for Reed Kan, who was stakes placed on dirt last month at Gulfstream Park West.

Combest bred Reed Kan with George Maharg.

“I’ve been waiting until I thought I had a good one before I named a horse for my dad,” said Combest, a former television writer and producer who worked on such notable shows as “Hill Street Blues,” “Simon and Simon,” and “Magnum P.I.” before returning to south Florida to help ease his father’s workload around the barn 15 years ago.

Reed Combest took out his trainer’s license in New Jersey 55 years ago and was among the first horsemen on the grounds when Calder Race Course opened in 1971. He won nearly 500 races, with his last important victory coming here during the winter of 2002 with Ms Brookski in the Grade 2 Davona Dale. He retired in 2011.

“Dad was not only down here since the day Calder opened, he actually picked out his own barn when there were only just strings and wooden stakes in the ground,” said Phil Combest. “And we stayed in that barn until they tore it down a couple of years ago.”

Combest said Reed Kan was precocious but as green as grass, especially in his debut when he finished sixth in a maiden special weight sprint at Gulfstream Park West.

“It was a real comedy that day, the trip he had,” said Combest. “But he’s improved ever since, and we figured since he was by Kantharos, why not take a shot and run him on the turf and see what we had. Now we’ve got a young horse who we know can handle both dirt and turf, and that’s a pretty good thing to have, especially down here.”