SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Nearly 48 hours after Kilwin upset the Test Stakes here Saturday, trainer Rusty Arnold admitted he still found it a little hard to believe his filly was able to pick herself back up following a near disastrous start to win one of the most prestigious sprint races for 3-year-old fillies.
“It was really incredible she was able to pull that off after stumbling so badly at the break and run down a terrific filly like Ragtime,” Arnold said by phone from Lexington on Monday. “[She] definitely had a better trip than ours from the back of the pack and got first run on her the way she did.”
What made Kilwin’s victory all the more surprising is the fact it came in only her second start on dirt. The daughter of Twirling Candy launched her career running five times on grass before switching to the main track late this spring to capture Churchill Downs’s Leslie’s Lady Stakes, which was decided at the same seven-furlong distance as the Grade 1 Test. Kilwin was the lesser regarded of the two fillies Arnold sent out in the Test, with Echo Sound finishing a disappointing sixth as the 3-2 favorite.
Arnold said both of his fillies came out of the race well and will ship back to Kentucky shortly. He also acknowledged that Kilwin could become one of the first winners in the more than 100-year history of the prestigious Test to make her subsequent start on the turf.
“Right now, we’re looking to run her back in the $2 million Music City [Sept. 7] at Kentucky Downs,” said Arnold. “It’s what we planned on doing all year long and it’s hard to pass up the race for that kind of money, especially when she figures to be one of the top contenders and she’s already proven she likes that course.”
Kilwin won the $998,000 Untapable Stakes in just her second career start during the 2024 Kentucky Downs meet.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had a horse as equally good on both turf and dirt,” said Arnold. “But it’s a nice problem to have, especially now that she validated her first win on dirt at Churchill Downs by doing it again over a different kind of main track surface.”
Arnold’s colleague, Bill Mott, reported Monday that his two fillies, Ragtime and Beauty Reigns, who finished second and third in the Test, also exited the event in good order with plans for their next outings still undecided. Although obviously disappointed in the final result, Mott was pleased at Ragtime becoming Grade 1-placed making just her third career start in the Test.
“She ran well, maybe a little green when she made the lead,” Mott said. “Had blinkers on, maybe didn’t see that horse coming. But it was still a very good race. She eased up a bit the last time as well after making the lead. But she was three lengths in front. But it was still a great effort. I mean, she was a maiden 60 days ago.”
Mott said he planned to give Ragtime “a little breather” after earning her second straight 96 Beyer Speed Figure in the Test.
“I don’t think there is anything else here for her,” Mott continued. “They’ve got the Raven Run at Keeneland. That’s something to think about.”
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