Richard’s Kid sold, transferred to O’Neill barn

Richard’s Kid looks around his new digs (Courtesy of Del Mar via Twitter)

Multiple Grade 1 star Richard’s Kid, who will bid for his third title in the
Grade 1 Pacific Classic August 26, has been transferred from Bob Baffert to the
Doug O’Neill barn after being sold privately Saturday.

According to
Del Mar’s Facebook page, the new ownership group is led by Steve
Boghossian’s Triple B Farms and also consists of Mark Verge’s Westside Rentals,
Dave Kenny and Steve Keh. The selling price was undisclosed.

O’Neill just began serving a 40-day suspension for a 2010 case in which a
horse tested above the threshold for carbon dioxide. His assistant Leandro Mora
has taken over the operation of the barn as the trainer of record.

This is the third time that Richard’s Kid has been the subject of a private
sale. Originally campaigned by breeder Robert E. Meyerhoff’s Fitzhugh, the
Maryland-bred scored his first career stakes win in the 2009 John B. Campbell
Handicap at Laurel.

Richard’s Kid was subsequently purchased by Arnold Zetcher and left trainer
Richard Small for the Southern California-based Baffert. The son of Lemon Drop
Kid became one of the top older horses on the circuit, winning the 2009 Pacific
Classic and placing in both the Grade 1 Goodwood and the Cougar II Handicap.

In early 2010, Richard’s Kid changed silks again. He was bought by Sheikh
Rashid bin Mohammed al Maktoum, whose nom de course is Zabeel Racing
International, as a prospect for the Group 1 Dubai World Cup. A dramatic last to
first winner of the Grade 2 San Antonio Handicap in his debut for his new owner,
the Baffert trainee was a non-threatening seventh in the Dubai showpiece.