The fields for the 14 races that comprise the Breeders’ Cup World Championships really begin to come into focus in summer and fall. This regular feature will offer a snapshot profile of one of the previous weekend’s standout stars, usually a Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” Challenge Series winner, and whether I’m buying or selling their chances to win Nov. 1-2 at Del Mar. This week, $1 million Stephen Foster Stakes winner Kingsbarns earned the right to kick off the series for 2024.

Accomplishments: Kingsbarns won three of five starts in 2023 as a 3-year-old, including a breakout front-running win in the $1 million Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby. He dueled for the lead in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve in his next start but faded to 14^th in what is the only unplaced finish of his career to date. In fact, other than the Kentucky Derby, Kingsbarns has never finished worse than second in nine races.

The bay Uncle Mo colt out of the Grade 3-placed Tapit mare Lady Tapit has emerged as a force in the older male division this year at age 4 with three wins in four starts for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, including the $300,000 Ben Ali Stakes at Keeneland in April and his 2 ½-length score over Pyrenees in the Foster at Churchill Downs.

Kingsbarns rebounded in the Stephen Foster from his first defeat of the year – a second to Pyrenees in the $250,000 Pimlico Special Stakes at Pimlico – with a victory from off the pace under Luis Saez at 9.95-to-1 odds you most likely won’t see again any time soon. He earned a fees-paid berth in the $7 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic Nov. 2 at Del Mar with the victory.

Kingsbarns was a dedicated pacesetter/pace-presser as a 3-year-old but has matured into a racehorse comfortable near the lead or rallying from off the pace, which has helped make him a rising star for owner Spendthrift Farm.

“We’re extremely proud of this horse’s effort and for the entire team behind him,” Pletcher said. “Obviously winning a Grade 1 is a tremendous accomplishment. I think we’ve seen this year he’s been able to settle better than when he was a 3-year-old and show that new dimension.”

Speed Figures: In four starts this year, Kingsbarns has earned Equibase Speed Figures between 103 and 112, with the highest figure a new four-point top for his Stephen Foster victory. Likewise, Kingsbarns earned a new career-best 100 Beyer Speed Figure for the Stephen Foster win with a range of 92 to 100 in four races this year.

Looking Ahead: Kingsbarns appears to be a 4-year-old on the rise with improved maturity and ascending speed figures for a trainer with 15 career Breeders’ Cup victories, including the 2019 Longines Classic with Vino Rosso.

Kingsbarns is very likely a candidate for many of the major older male races this summer and fall leading up to the World Championships, depending upon how he comes out of the Stephen Foster win and what his connections view as an ideal roadmap to the 2024 Classic. Pletcher outlined one potential scenario to David Grening of Daily Racing Form that would include a start in the $1 million, 1 ¼-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes Sept. 1 at Saratoga as a prep for the Classic with the goal keeping Kingsbarns fresh for fall.

Regardless of where he winds up running next, Kingsbarns looks like a legitimate threat to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic. I’m enthusiastically buying Kingsbarns stock.