Papiamento A Landmark Winner for Kamps, Beckman

When Papiamento  crossed the wire first in the sixth race at Saratoga Race Course Aug. 24, the 2-year-old colt achieved a trio of firsts: the first win for the horse, the first win for owners Ryan and Larisa Kamp, and the first win at The Spa for trainer Whit Beckman. 

"This is the Travers, right?" asked a jubilant Ryan Kamp in the winner's circle. "This is my Travers." 

The Travers wouldn't go off until later in the card, but it's hard to imagine that Kamp could have been any more excited if Papiamento had indeed won that race.

Papiamento got the win with a skillful, patient ride by Tyler Gaffalione, who on Travers weekend was just four wins behind leading jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. Saving ground in the 1 1/16-miles race on a firm inner turf course, Gaffalione moved off the rail in mid-stretch, cruising past the leaders to win 2 1/2 lengths, paying $23.60.

The Kamps are relatively new to the sport, having begun running horses in 2018. At Larisa's suggestion, the couple went on a double date with Andrew Hudson and his girlfriend. Hudson owns horses in the name of Hoolie Racing Stable, which campaigns horses on its own and in multiple partnerships. 

"Over time, Andrew and I became good friends, and he was deep into horse racing," said Ryan Kamp. "We started out with some claimers and lower-dollar horses, and now we're trying to up our game a little bit." 

Hudson introduced Kamp to Legion Bloodstock, whose Kristian Villante selected Papiamento from this year's OBS March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training.

"The horse is very athletic, similar to what we always buy," said Villante. "We bought the horse from Ciaran Dunn, and that always means a lot to us. He always stood by the horse."

Dunn and Paul Reddam's pinhooking partnership Red Wings paid $270,000 for the Medaglia d'Oro   colt at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. 

"We told Ryan at the sale that we thought we'd have to go higher than we did," said Villante.

Earlier in the sale, Kamp had purchased One Happy Island  (Uncle Mo  ) through Legion, paying $300,000 for the bay filly. Kamp and his wife were in Aruba on vacation at the time. 

"Papiamento was kind of an extra," said Kamp. "After we bought One Happy Island, Kristian told us about this horse, so I said, 'OK, let's go after him.' We ended up getting him, and then I had to explain to my wife why we just spent a quarter of a million dollars on another horse." 

The names of both horses are a nod to that vacation; Papiamento is the language spoken by Arubans and emerged from Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch, the languages of the colonizers of the island. "One Happy Island" is Aruba's slogan.

Papiamento is out of the unraced Curlin   mare Serena's Image, who is a half sibling to multimillionaire Honor Code . 

Legion Bloodstock didn't lead the Kamps only to these 2-year-olds; it also led them to Beckman, who has trained horses for Hudson.

Beckman was an assistant for Todd Pletcher and Chad Brown before going out on his own in 2021, so he was no stranger to the winner's circle at Saratoga. 

"It feels a lot better when it's my name in the program," he said, crediting the owners, staff, and family that helped him get there. He also acknowledged that the years he spent at Saratoga were a factor in his success.

"I know the Oklahoma track, and how the surfaces go," he said. "Knowing people and knowing how to get around and easily maneuver makes a big difference." 

The Kamps hope to run another horse on closing weekend, and if they end up back in the winner's circle, Ryan's going to have a tough time coming up with superlatives to describe this experience.

"This," he said after getting his picture taken with Papiamento, "is the best day ever."