In the back ring at the 2022 Keeneland November Sale, Andrew Cary was eyeing the stakes-winning mare Katie's Kiss (Kantharos) when he ran into Torie Gladwell.“What are you doing?” he asked her.“I'm buying this mare,” she said, nodding over at the 10-year-old bay.“No,” he protested. “I'm buying this mare.”A spontaneous partnership quicky formed and together, they secured Katie's Kiss for $75,000.While it wasn't the first time Cary and Gladwell teamed up, it turned out to be their best acquisition yet when the Maclean's Music foal Katie's Kiss was carrying that day came to be known as Bacio. This year, the talented turf sprinter has taken a tight-knit team of breeders on an unforgettable ride, from the winner's enclosure at Royal Ascot to a Group 1 victory at York. Now, the group is preparing to send out their first Breeders' Cup contender.Along with Gladwell and Cary's Borrowdale LLC, the breeding partnership also includes Cary's father-in-law's Cincinnati Equine; Valerie Dailey, another longtime partner of Gladwell's; and John Gregorio, a Chicago-based attorney who operates Knollwood Farm.“I've been partners with the Gladwells for many years,” said Gregorio. “We've had some successful horses, but this is the first Breeders' Cup horse. Bacio was a little bit of a slow developer, but we knew he was a good horse and we knew he was fast. He just seems to be getting better and better over time. I don't think we've seen the best of him yet.”After he was foaled in Kentucky, Bacio was sent down to Jimbo and Torie Gladwell's farm in Ocala to be prepared for the 2-year-old sales. From the start, the colt showed talent, but had a habit of getting in his own way.“He was very much a knucklehead,” Gladwell admitted. “Super immature mentally. All he wanted to do was play and go to the track. He was always very quick whenever we asked him to do something, but it took a long time for him to mature.”At the 2025 OBS March Sale, Bacio recorded one of the fastest times of the under-tack show, but Galdwell had been hoping for more.“There was a really bad headwind that day, so I was a little disappointed with his breeze,” she admitted. “He looked good back at the barn, but was still showing just really immature. He was always biting the handler, pawing and jiggy-jogging.”When the colt failed to meet his reserve at $140,000, his breeders decided to race him themselves.“When we didn't get him sold, I was kind of upset,” said Valerie Dailey. “But Torie and Jimbo do such a great job and work so hard to try to make everything go right. I just didn't question it. If it was supposed to be, it was supposed to be.”Cary was the one who came up with the colt's name, an Italian play on his dam Katie's Kiss, and it was decided that Bacio would go to Wesley Ward.“Wesley was one of the trainers that really liked the horse at the two-year-old sale, but he just couldn't get anything put together to get him purchased there,” explained Gladwell. “We knew that the horse's personality was really going to fit Wesley's training style. Wesley loves really fast horses so this was a perfect spot for him.”Bacio scores at Royal Ascot | Getty After the 2-year-old colt broke his maiden on debut on the main track and then switched surfaces to finish a close second in the Speakeasy Stakes at Santa Anita, offers began to flood in. Both Gladwell and Dailey stayed in for a piece, with the majority of the ownership being taken over by MyRacehorse.Undefeated in three starts this year, Bacio has taken his connections to the international stage with wins at Royal Ascot in the Palace Of Holyroodhouse Handicap and at York in the G1 Nunthorpe Stakes.“Before we even went over there, Wesley was like, 'You're going to win at Royal Ascot. You're going to win at Royal Ascot,'” Gladwell recalled. “I was like, 'This guy is crazy!' This is a tough race for him to fly over there and win. Sure enough, he wins at Royal Ascot. The next race my husband got to go with me, so that was really special.”Bacio's gate-to-wire score in the Nunthorpe, which was a 'Win and You're In' for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, made him the first U.S.-trained horse to win the race and the first Grade I winner for each of his breeders.“It's like seeing your kids grow up and watching them perform,” said Cary. “It's just been amazing to see him progress from race to race. I didn't go to York, but I was watching and was just incredibly proud of how he handled shipping over there, the softish ground, everyone targeting him and he still did it. It's just surreal.”“It's been a fairytale,” added Dailey. “We're small breeders. I breed maybe five a year. Having been in the business for 40 plus years, this is my first Grade I winner. I'm so excited to share it with good friends like Torie and Jimbo. It takes a team.”Bacio preparing for his Breeders' Cup bid at Keeneland | Katie PetrunyakNow back at Ward's base at Keeneland, Bacio is preparing for a Breeders' Cup bid on his home turf. Still as fiery as he was as a juvenile with the Gladwells, the 3-year-old maintains a tailored training routine.“He doesn't train every day,” said Gladwell. “Wesley will jog the horse and then sometimes swim him. He's the type of horse that doesn't need a lot of training. He has one gear and one speed and that is just 'go.' Wesley's team has done amazing with this horse. So has Caitlin Dunne and her husband Riley who helped orchestrate getting him sold and putting all the partners together.”The majority of the original partnership still owns Katie's Kiss, who is in foal to Citizen Bull and has an Arabian Knight colt pointing for the sales this fall. She also has a 2-year-old filly in training with Mark Casse named Southern Kiss (Golden Pal), who Gladwell owns in partnership with Blue Crevalle Racing.The team of breeders is gearing up to reconvene in Lexington, where Bacio will look to maintain his perfect 3-year-old record at the Breeders' Cup.“What's interesting is he's got all that speed, but it looks like he can carry it as well,” said Gregorio. “He gets out there and they make a run at him, and it seems like he has another gear. It's been a real thrill and it looks like he may be the favorite in the race or close to it.”“He's a very special horse for all of us,” added Gladwell. “I cried at Royal Ascot. I cried at York. And if he wins the Breeders' Cup, I'll probably cry again.”The post Breeders’ Cup Connections: Back-Ring Partnership Sends Bacio to Breeders’ Cup appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.