Hi all,

A huge win to start the year, a new addition to the stable and a couple of big entries on Saturday to start the 2^nd half of January
We welcome She’s a Gamer to the Kenwood Stable as the first horse claimed for our Group 99 ARC26 program on Saturday January 10^th at Gulfstream Park.  She is a Kentucky bred 4-year-old lightly raced filly by Game Winner out of Funny Feeling by Distorted Humor with a running line of 7-2-1-0 for earnings of $65,540.   Scott’s report is below.

CONGRATULATIONS! We won a two-way shake this afternoon for the WINNER of Race 3, #5-She’s a Gamer; a 4YO, well-bred filly by Game Winner! Checked at the start and forced back to last, jockey Irad Ortiz never worried and just kept her out wide, and in the clear. She has typically been on the early pace, so closing like that was a new experience for her, and she handled it professionally, while being kept 4-5 wide the entire way! Once the field was into the stretch, She’s A Gamer just slowly gained on the leaders, as she was kept to task by Irad to get her nose down at the wire! It ultimately doesn’t matter what they do in the race we claim them from (just ask our ARC25 group, who claimed Cadet Corps at 48-1 odds when finishing 11^th in the race we claimed him out of last year, but he has gone on to win 3 races for us, and finish ITM in every race), it’s always nice to see them run that well, and then ultimately win after such a troubled trip! Finishing 2^nd by a nose and keeping the condition would have been better, but we’re just excited to have this well-bred filly in the stable to kickoff ARC26!

Lisa Connects starts off the weekend in Race 1 at Gulfstream Park on Saturday afternoon in a Maiden 25K Claimer going one mile and a sixteenth on turf (see pp’s attached above and details below).  Edwin Gonzalez will be back to ride in a full field of twelve out of post #6.  Currently the 4^th pick at 8-1 on the opening line she looks to be the lone speed and should be able to set the pace.  Scott’s pre-race comments are below.   Good luck to all Group 98 Members.

After LISA CONNECT’S entry carried back-to-back days this past week, we finally saw the race get carded for next Saturday, January 17^th, as the opening race on the 11-race card! The same Mdn25000 level going two turns on the turf course, jockey Edwin Gonzalez is back aboard breaking from Post Position #6, amongst a full field of twelve runners, plus an Also Eligible! LC took a nice step forward last out, trying turf AND two turns for the first time, albeit she had to settle for 5^th Place! She’s been training great out of that race, got a breeze over the Palm Meadows turf course, and we have every reason to believe she can take another step forward for us on Saturday! She’ll have her hands full with a field of 12, including the 3^rd Place finisher from her last race, #9-Smiling Rosie.

Lisa Connects (3-Year-Old Filly)

Date: January 4, 2026
Track: PALM MEADOWS TRAINING CENTER
Distance: Four Furlongs
Time: 51:20 Breezing
Track Condition: Firm
Surface: Turf
Rank: 34/41

Cadet Corps had a smooth trip from Palm Meadows to the Fairgrounds in New Orleans where he will run in the Grade 3 Louisiana Stakes on Saturday afternoon (see video link below and attached picture above).  He will reunite with Paco Lopez in this field of eight going one and one sixteenth miles on the main track.  They are 8-1 on the opening line and will look to stalk the speed and make a move in the long Fairgrounds stretch (pp’s attached above).  Good luck to all Group 97 ARC25 members and Trainer – Partner Kelly Breen.  Scott’s pre-race comments are below.

 Cadet Corps - Van Load to FG 01.13.26.MOV

CADET CORPS will take on a tough group of seven older horses in the G3 Louisiana Stakes! Reuniting with Paco Lopez in the saddle for the 8.5F dirt route, He drew Post Position #3 and will face off against Just A Touch again, who finished 2^nd in the G3 Monmouth Stakes against Cadet Corps (but has not raced since). Worth noting, Cadet Corps has run his lifetime best speed figure, by all metrics we follow, with Paco Lopez in the saddle at Colonial Downs for the Claiming Crown Preview Day. A repeat of that kind-of performance, and who knows! There is plenty of early speed signed on with this shorter field, led by #8-Just A Touch, #7-Willy D’s, #4-Accelerize and #6-Tarantino, who are all early pace presences, and even need-the-lead type horses. Hopefully, that creates a hot pace on the front end, setting up nicely for Cadet Corps and the other closers. When you add in the longer stretch run at Fair Grounds and CC will need to run the race of his life to have any say!

Speed Figures shot out of the gate and never looked back as he went gate to wire on Sunday January 4^th to win convincingly for his first start of 2026 (see chart attached above).  Congratulations to our Group 97 ARC25 Group and Trainer – Partner Kelly Breen.  Scott’s post-race comments are below.

Congratulations on the impressive win from SPEED FIGURES at Gulfstream Park! Tyler Gaffalione and Speed Figures broke cleanly and quickly opened a 4+ length lead, taking the field of nine gate-to-wire to kick off the New Year in style for ARC25! Just four tenths of a second off the track record, Speed Figures was given his lifetime best Equibase Speed figure of 98, and a 94 Beyer Speed Figure 9 points better than his previous best! Taking home the Winner's share of an $87,000 purse sure is a nice way to kick off 2026 with this group, and the way he did it gives us a lot to be excited about moving forward with our lightly raced 5yo!  After winning his second Allowance Condition today, we'll start to look for 5-furlong stakes races for him, as he can be dangerous at short distance with his gate speed. There is a Listed Stakes race at Tampa Bay Downs on February 14th, aptly named The Turf Dash, that is spaced nicely out of this race today, and is 5-furlongs over a beautiful turf course! We'll target that race for now, with Nominations only closing at the end of January.

Red Head Italian is well at Penn National, and we are pointing to a sprint for non-winners of four at Laurel Park on New Year’s Eve for her next entry.

Outlaw Country has continued to train well at Palm Meadows and will look to get back on track on New Year’s Eve at Gulfstream Park in a 5 ½ furlong sprint on the Tapeta Track unless a turf sprint (his preferred surface) comes up on the overnights as there is nothing else in the condition book for him.

One Time Willard has begun light training to regain conditioning for his 2026 campaign. If all goes well we will be looking for a race for him towards the end of February or early March.

Cali Heat has continued to progress in his recovery from injury at Sunset Meadow and is enjoying his time in the round pen.  We are looking to set him up for a second career as a riding horse in the coming weeks.