BBN Racing has always had good luck with Twirling Candy, but they never could have anticipated that a playful naming convention of pairing the Lane's End stallion's progeny with dessert-themed names would one day forge a partnership in a Breeders' Cup contender.The ownership group's affinity for Twirling Candy started about 10 years ago with Grade I-winning millionaire Concrete Rose. One of BBN's more recent Twirling Candy acquisitions, Mackinac, was named after Michigan's famous fudge capital. Her breeder, Rick Howard, kept close tabs on the filly as she broke her maiden last summer at Kentucky Downs. A few weeks earlier, Howard had caught BBN in the Saratoga winner's circle with another Rusty Arnold-trained daughter of Twirling Candy. He learned later that GI Test Stakes heroine Kilwin was named after the fudge shop headquartered across the street from his office in Michigan.When Kilwin entered the ring at the Keeneland November Sale and Howard was presented with the opportunity to partner on the filly, it proved to be sweet serendipity. One year later, Howard is looking forward to sending out his first Breeders' Cup contender when Kilwin makes what will likely be her final career start in the Filly and Mare Sprint.“The thing about horse racing is that it will teach you patience, even if you're not looking for the lesson,” said Howard. “But Rusty has been terrific with Kilwin, doing all the right things and taking our time. It looks like she's coming into her own right now, which is nice.”BBN Racing purchased Kilwin for $225,000 at the 2023 Keeneland September Sale. At the time a half-sister to the graded stakes-winning gelding One Timer (Trappe Shot), Kilwin's pedigree has since been boosted by another graded stakes-winning sibling, Just Basking (Arrogate). This September, the half-sister by Cody's Wish brought $925,000 at Keeneland.“She was maybe a little small, but she had all the parts and was a good mover,” recalled BBN's founding partner and racing manager Braxton Lynch. “We got lucky enough to get her before the pedigree had really blown up. She came around quite early.”Kilwin made her first start at Ellis Park when a turf sprint came up a week earlier than her originally scheduled debut on dirt. She won by two lengths before sticking to the grass and capturing the Untapable Stakes at Kentucky Downs.Prior to her Breeders' Cup bid, a quarter share was offered in the filly at the inaugural Keeneland Championship Sale, but despite a few negotiations with underbidders, BBN remained the sole owner when the filly finished fifth in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.Following a runner-up effort behind future champion Shisospicy (Mitole) in the GIII Mamzelle Stakes the following spring, Arnold decided to shift her to the main track.“We were either going to have to go a mile or five and a half on grass, so it was a perfect time to try dirt going seven, which was really the distance she wanted,” Lynch explained. “We'd always had in the back of our mind that she was going to be equally good on dirt, and it turned out she was better on dirt.”In the Leslie's Lady Overnight Stakes, Kilwin rallied late to defeat a field that included Grade I-placed Vodka With a Twist (Thousand Words) and future Grade I winner Eclatant (Into Mischief). Afterwards, her connections considered either the GI Test at the same distance or the GIII Monmouth Oaks going two turns.Kilwin strides into the winner's circle for the GI Test Stakes | Sarah Andrew“We knew that we were hoping to just hit the board in the Test, trying to get the Grade I-placing,” said Lynch. “After we'd had the discussion, I was driving home and I called Rusty again and said, 'Look, I think seven furlongs hits her right between the eyes. She just won going seven furlongs. Why not give it a try?'”Lynch regretted her decision as soon as the Test started when Kilwin stumbled out of the gate and dropped to the back of the field, but as the fillies entered the stretch, Kilwin came flying on the outside and sped past 'TDN Rising Star' Ragtime (Union Rags) in the final strides.“When she fell out of the gate, I was just thinking, 'It was my fault. What have I done?'” recalled Lynch. “Halfway through the race, I'm still trying to process what was happening. Then she's coming and I'm thinking we might get a piece of this. And then when she won, I couldn't believe.”With around 80 partners on hand for the victory, it was a memorable day in Saratoga for the BBN team.After her next race at Kentucky Downs, Kilwin came up with a minor injury that would require several months off. BBN decided to offer her at the Keeneland November Sale as a racing or breeding prospect, but they were hopeful that someone might be interested in partnering on the filly so she could return to the races the next year.Howard, whose father had been involved in the business for decades, had just sold a farm in Kentucky and was looking to reinvest.“I had obviously watched Kilwin in the Test and that was such a special performance to fall out of the gate and come back,” he explained. “Besides her physical talent, she's mentally tough. That kind of got the wheels turning and when the opportunity came up, I went to them the day of the sale. We said if everything falls into place, let's do it. If somebody else takes off and it goes in a different direction, so be it.”BBN Racing and Rick Howard celebrate at the 2025 Keeneland November Sale | KeenelandAfter Howard scored the winning bid at $3 million, the new partnership had to wait eight months before the star filly returned to the starting gate this year, but they were rewarded with an easy victory in the Twin Bridges Stakes at Ellis Park.Kilwin returned to Grade I company in the Ballerina, rallying from last of the field to claim second behind Ways and Means (Practical Joke).“Rusty has always had it in the back of his mind that she would have no problem going two turns, but we had a couple setbacks early on and the timing didn't work out to try that,” noted Lynch. “The Ballerina was her second start this year and she ended up pretty far back. Despite what happened in the Test where she came from out of the clouds, that's not really what she wants to do. She can be a lot closer to the pace. Hopefully on our home track, we'll get another shot at Ways and Means.”The rematch will come in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint. Back on her home turf at Keeneland, Kilwin worked four furlongs in :48.40 last Thursday. After the Breeders' Cup, she will return to the Keeneland November Sale as a racing or broodmare prospect.When Kilwin goes through the ring, it will be a bittersweet moment for her ownership group. The star filly has become BBN Racing's leading earner after surpassing Concrete Rose with over $1.3 million over her three years on the racetrack.“I have the upmost respect for her as an athlete,” said Lynch. “To do what she did in the Test was unbelievable. It takes a sort of superpower to do that and she puts that effort in every time.”The post Keeneland Case Study: Breeders’ Cup-Bound Kilwin Back on Home Turf appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.