Ever since he opened his stable five years ago, Bob Edwards has relied heavily on Stonestreet Training Center's Ian Brennan.
Edwards has trusted Brennan to handle the breaking of his young, e Five Racing Thoroughbreds horses to prepare them for their racing career.
Along the way, there have been numerous calls between the two of them.
Most of them conveyed disappointing or frustrating information, or word of a setback.
"When Ian tells me he has some news, I usually panic," Edwards said.
But there have been several calls that brought a wide smile to Edwards' face.
Each relayed word that Edwards had a very good 2-year-old on his hands.
The first involved New Money Honey, winner of the 2016 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T) who earned $1.5 million.
The second was about Good Magic , the 2017 Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) winner and 2-year-old champion who earned $2.9 million and is now a stallion at Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa.
That same year, Brennan created some steam for 2017 Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Rushing Fall, who won 11 of 15 starts, six of those victories in grade 1 stakes, and earned $2.89 million.
Number four came earlier this year about a homebred 2-year-old daughter of Lope de Vega. Now named Kinchen, honoring the memory of the late Ralph Kinchen, the father of prominent handicapper Jonathon Kinchen, the filly will make her debut for trainer Chad Brown Aug. 29 in the sixth race at Saratoga Race Course with quite a buzz surrounding her.
"This filly is one of my first homebreds and when Ian reached out, it was all good news," said Edwards, who breeds under the Fifth Avenue Bloodstock banner and has three mares in Europe, including Kinchen's dam, the Galileo mare Miss Nouriya. "He said she could be the next Rushing Fall. She's one of the fastest horses he's ever seen on the farm, and Ian knows a good horse when he sees one and can make a quick evaluation of them. After hearing that, you cross your fingers that everything goes right until she runs in a race and the starting gates open."
For Kinchen, whose superb selections and his ubiquitous flamboyant shirts are a highlight on the New York Racing Association's Fox Sports television shows, it will not matter whether the filly turns out to be a grade 1 winner or a claimer. The emotion of watching a horse at the Spa named for his beloved father will be overwhelming.
"It's an outstanding honor," said Kinchen, winner of the 2015 National Handicapping Championship Tour. "My father took me to the racetrack the first time. I know how much this would mean to him. He was a proud man and was proud of our last name. Having a horse with his name running at Saratoga for the best trainer in the world, it's pretty darn cool. If she wins, there's no way I am not crying."
The place his father will always hold in Kinchen's heart was reflected in a moment at last year's Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge when he entered the final race with a chance to win it.
"I'm an emotional person. I was second in the Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge and I was playing doubles into that final race and knew I was alive to a lot of big payoffs. When it happened, I reached into my pocket for my phone because I wanted to call someone and say, 'Watch the race. I'm alive for $300,000 with the favorite. I could win this contest.' The first person I went to call was my dad, and in that moment I realized I couldn't call him and I got emotional," said Kinchen, who wound up second in the BCBC.
Naming the filly Kinchen was a process that started when Edwards and his wife, Kris, heard about Ralph Kinchen's Oct. 17, 2020, passing and reserved the name Kinchen for one of their horses. Edwards told Jonathon he could use the name on any of his horses, but Kinchen was uncertain of which one to pick.
"Bob and Kris were so kind. They told me to come to the farm and pick out a horse, but I don't know what I'm looking at," Kinchen said. "I just told him I wanted it to be a good one."
When Edwards mentioned the Lope de Vega filly, it checked all the boxes. One of Jonathon and his dad's favorite horses was Newspaperofrecord, a Brown-trained daughter of Lope de Vega who won the 2018 Juvenile Fillies Turf.
"I had made a big wager on Newspaperofrecord when she won the Breeders' Cup," Kinchen said. "So I asked Chad if I should take the Lope de Vega filly and when he said yes it was set."
On Sunday, in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight race on turf for 2-year-old fillies, Kinchen will find out much more about that choice.
As talented as the filly seems, there's always a question mark or two attached to a first-time starter.
"She's trains really well," Brown said. "They were high on her at the farm and it's a good spot to get her started. I see plenty of potential in her. She has a nice turn of foot in the morning. With firsters they have to handle it mentally and show they can do it in the afternoon, but so far I've been pleased with her works."
How much money Kinchen will bet on the filly remains to be seen. He's been known to make some massive wagers. Yet in this case, even if he bets just $2 to show, if the four-legged Kinchen wins, you can bet he will feel like a million bucks.
