FRIENDS, GRASS, & GIRLS An extraordinary horse’s extravagant retirement WRITTEN BY MEGIN POTTER | PHOTOS PROVIDED UNLESS NOTED
After the Races NY, Inc., a local non-profit Thoroughbred retirement program located on Swedish Hill Farm, owned by Anna Hollander, is now housing a very famous horse named Extravagant Kid. Bred in Florida by Vicino Racing Stables to mare Pretty Extravagant and multiple graded stakes winner Kiss Me Kid, Extravagant Kid won his first two stakes races in 2017. When David Ross (of DARRS,Inc) saw Extravagant Kid in January 2018, he told his Racing Manager of 15 years, James Bredin, that he wanted the horse despite his odds that day being 20/1. He claimed Extravagant Kid for $75,000. “It didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me at the time but obviously, it worked out great,” said Bredin. The gelding, trained by Brendan Walsh, went on to earn $1,704,683, in 56 starts; with 15 wins, 18 runner-up finishes, and seven thirds. 28 | SIMPLY SARATOGA | SUMMER 2022
AN OUTSTANDING CAREER By Aug. 31, 2018, Extravagant Kid won a half-length victory at the Lucky Coin Stakes in Saratoga. He also racked up races at the prestigious Breeders Cup, the Ascot in England, and was the winner of 2021 Al Quoz Sprint in Dubai. On February 2, 2022, Extravagant Kid ran a disappointing race, finishing sixth at Florida’s Gulfstream Park. His team immediately investigated and found that there were some mild problems; minor changes to his knees and the beginnings of a bone spur developing. “We could’ve tried to jam another race out of him but we didn’t want to do that,” said Bredin. saratogaTODAYnewspaper.com
