Rockingham Buys Majority Interest in X Y Jet

By Amanda Duckworth

Majority interest in graded stakes winner X Y Jet has been sold  to California-based Rockingham Ranch, with the March 26 Dubai Golden Shaheen (UAE-I) at Meydan as the main target. The 4-year-old Kantharos   gelding will remain in the care of trainer Jorge Navarro leading up to the race.

"Rockingham Ranch bought him with the goal of going to the Golden Shaheen," said Shannon Potter, an agent with Taylor Made who helped broker the deal. "He is going to stay with Navarro through the Golden Shaheen. Then, everything will be reevaluated when the horse gets back from being overseas."

Before leaving for Dubai, X Y Jet is slated to run in the Feb. 27 Gulfstream Park Sprint (gr. III). He has won four races in a row for Gelfenstein Farm, which has retained a minority interest in the gelding.

Included in those victories are the Mr. Prospector Stakes (gr. III), which X Y Jet won by 9 1/4 lengths, and the Sunshine Millions Sprint Stakes, which he took by 4 1/4 lengths.

"Carlos Morales, who is an adviser to Gelfenstein Farm, and I were talking about the horse, and realizing he was probably one of the top three sprinters in the country," Potter said of how the deal came to fruition. "I said, 'Hey I have somebody who is always looking for a really good horse to run.' 

"Runhappy, the top sprinter in the country, is not going to Dubai. American horses have done so well over in Dubai in that race, and with it having such a big purse, it was a good deal for Rockingham Ranch to take a shot when the horse got invited."

The Golden Shaheen carries a purse of $2 million. Trainer Bob Baffert won the race last year with Secret Circle   for owners Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman.

X Y Jet was bred in Florida by Didier Plasencia. He has been first or second in 10 of his 13 career starts, including a second by a half-length to Barbados in last year's Hutcheson Stakes (gr. III) at Gulfstream.