By Your Side vying to join Kenneally's Breeders' Cup crew

Eddie Kenneally has trained a number of graded stakes winners over the years — horses such as Kelly’s Landing, Bradester and Sailor’s Valentine to name a few — yet finds his barn on the precipice of its highest-earning season ever.

Born into a family of horsemen in his native Ireland, Kenneally, who now bases in Kentucky, chalks it up to timing.

“It’s all about getting quality horses at your barn,” he said. “Coincidentally, we have several that are of high quality at the same time.”

One of those, the 2-year-old colt By Your Side, returns Saturday in Keeneland’s Grade 1, $500,000 Breeders’ Futurity, a race that could add him to Kenneally’s growing roster of Breeders’ Cup contenders.

Already slated to travel for the Nov. 1-2 championships at Santa Anita Park are Abscond (Juvenile Fillies Turf) and Scabbard (Juvenile). The Breeders’ Futurity is a “Win and You’re In” race toward the Juvenile as well.

“He needs to run well for sure — possibly win, or run a winning race,” Kenneally said of By Your Side, a son of hot first-crop sire Constitution who debuted a winner at Churchill Downs, then won Saratoga’s Sanford Stakes (G3) on July 13.

From there, By Your Side ran fifth of six in the Sept. 2 Hopeful Stakes (G1).

“I liked him going into the Hopeful, but the track came up muddy, and he didn’t care for it,” Kenneally said. “He’s come back to Kentucky since then and trained really well at Keeneland — two bullet works. The way he’s been doing it is impressive.

“We’re going to stretch him out, and I think he will stretch out. I think he’ll show up on Saturday.”

Basin won the Hopeful by a widening 6 1/2 lengths. Going back to June 14 at Churchill, however, By Your Side got the better of him in maiden special weight company under the Twin Spires.

“The mud, we’re going to hope it was the main reason for his below-par effort,” Kenneally said of By Your Side, purchased for $240,000 as a yearling by Anderson Stables.

2019 Breeders' Futurity (G1)

Joseph Sutton campaigns Scabbard, a 2-year-old son of More Than Ready who originally made headlines for finishing second in the Saratoga Special (G2) as “Noose,” then had his name changed when obvious racial connotations were pointed out.

Running as Scabbard for the first time, the $190,000 yearling was no match for Dennis’ Moment in Churchill’s Sept. 14 Iroquois Stakes (G3). But he ran on to be a fast-finishing second in a race that secured his bid at the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

“Sure, Dennis’ Moment finished up with something in hand,” Kenneally said, “but we lost momentum when we had to check just inside the half-mile pole. If you notice, he got shuffled back, and it took him a minute to get going in stride again. He passed a lot of horses from that moment to the wire — good horses.”

The next day, the 2-year-old filly Abscond scored a signature victory for the barn when prevailing in a blanket finish to Woodbine’s Natalma Stakes (G1) on the turf. The daughter of Blame, a July 21 debut winner at Ellis Park, had also previously run second to a possible Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint favorite Kimari in Saratoga’s Aug. 14 Bolton Landing Stakes.

“She’s not really bred to be a 5 1/2-furlong sprint horse, but of course, when you’re running 2-year-olds in July and into August, there’s not a lot of distance opportunities,” Kenneally said. “…She came out of the Woodbine race perfectly — ran hard, but she’s tough. She’s an improving filly, so we’re delighted with her.”

Kenneally mentioned one other horse, the 5-year-old mare Girls Know Best, as a possibility for the Breeders’ Cup. She’ll go second off the bench in Keeneland’s Oct. 11 Buffalo Trace Franklin County (G3) with a shot at progressing to the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint against the boys.

Entering the week, Kenneally's horses had earned just more than $2.75 million in 2019. His most lucrative year as a trainer came in 2012 when his barn tallied $3.32 million in earnings.