Group 1 Winner Extravagant Kid Retired

David Ross' group 1-winning millionaire Extravagant Kid  has been retired from racing at the age of 9.

The Kiss the Kid  gelding finished his career with $1,704,683 in purse earnings from 56 starts which includes 15 wins, 18 runner-up finishes, and seven thirds.

Ross noted that in Extravagant Kid's two most recent starts at Gulfstream Park—the Dec. 31 Janis Stakes and a Feb. 2 allowance optional claiming race—that his prize horse may have lost a step and flattened out just a bit. He was second in the Janis and sixth in the allowance optional claimer.

"We had him scanned and it looked like he was starting to get the beginning of a bone spur," said Ross.

After the diagnosis, Extravagant Kid was retired and is now at a training center in Ocala temporarily where Ross keeps his young horses. He will be based there until a permanent home is found.

Ross—whose stable name is DARRS—along with trainer Brendan Walsh and racing manager James Bredin are all committed to finding the right next home for Extravagant Kid.

"We are on a mission to find (Extravagant Kid) the perfect place because he has brought so much joy to everyone who has been a part of his life," said Ross. "He will thrive in his second career, possibly as a riding horse because he loves to do trails. We want to make sure he is happy and productive going forward."

Ross, who has had graded stakes winners with Scuba, Honorable Duty, and Proforma, said his biggest thrill as an owner was Extravagant Kid's victory in the $1,000,000 Al Quoz Sprint Sponsored by Azizi Developments (G1) over a top-class field last March in Dubai.

"I've had a lot of nice horses over the years but none have been able to do what this one did—win a grade 1, or in this case, a group 1 stakes," said Ross. "He's been an unbelievably great horse to be associated with and has thrived on new adventures."

In addition to his win in Dubai, Extravagant Kid made a trip last summer to compete at Royal Ascot, where he finished a commendable third in the King's Stand Stakes (G1).

Bred in Florida by Vicino Racing Stables, Extravagant Kid is out of the winning With Distinction mare Pretty Extravagant. He began his career racing for Vicino Racing Stables and was trained by Milton Wolfson before being claimed by Ross and Walsh for $75,000 out of an allowance optional claiming race at Gulfstream in January of 2018. A nine-time stakes winner, Extravagant Kid competed twice in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) in 2020 and 2021.