Kendall's Boy Arrives for Southwest

Kendall’s Boy arrived on the grounds Thursday (Feb. 12) from trainer Tom Amoss’ base in New Orleans. The Sky Mesa colt will be looking to win his second straight race since making a successful 3-year-old debut January 11 in a $46,000 allowance/optional claiming race at the Fair Grounds.

“He’s a nice colt, but the question on him is whether he can successfully negotiate two turns,” said Amoss. “We’ve worked on that. At first glance, he tried it once at Keeneland and it didn’t go well.”

Amoss was referring to the day Kendall’s Boy was 11th of 12 in the Dixiana Breeders Futurity (G1) last October. “There were a lot of moving parts which made that race what it was, a disappointment.”

Amoss said that Kendall’s Boy came out of the effort with a small chip in his hind ankle, which was removed, and he ran an impressive race to reach the winner’s circle in his first time back.

“When you look at his form, you see he was second to (the highly-regarded) Havana in his first start so you walk away saying this is a very nice horse,” said Amoss. “But the question still remains will he successfully negotiate two turns. Like I said, we’ve worked on that and we’ll see.”

Amoss trains Kendall’s Boy for longtime owner Jerry Namy, who is also the co-owner with Phil Sims of the Oaklawn-based multiple graded stakes winner Don’t Tell Sophia. She defends her title in the $100,000 Bayakoa Stakes Sunday.

Amoss picked out Kendall’s Boy at the 2012 Keeneland September yearling sale and Namy signed the ticket for $100,000. The colt’s name holds a great deal of significance for his owner.

The colt is named for Kendall Hill, Namy’s close friend and partner in the horse business, who was killed when the two men, along with two others, were involved in a 2009 twin-engine plane crash while they were returning home to Dallas, Texas after watching one of their horses run at Remington Park.

Dr. Namy, the former CEO and president of Texland Petroleum LLC, suffered nine broken ribs, displaced vertebrae, a dislocated hip which broke into his pelvis, and a broken fibula. He spent a month in ICU and another month in rehabilitation. Bob Schumacher, Namy’s partner in Texland, also died as a result of complications from his injuries and the pilot survived.

Amoss said that even though there are Kentucky Derby points at stake in the Southwest, it’s premature to look that far down the road.

“First things first,” he said. “No matter where he runs in this race, you won’t see a better looking horse in the paddock. He’s a very athletic, good looking horse.”