UN-‘BELIEF’-ABLE RUN

By Steve Sherack

Just six days after emotionally parting ways with back-to-back GI Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint heroine Mizdirection (Mizzen Mast) for the hefty sum of $2.7 million at last year’s Fasig-Tipton November sale, co-owners Kevin and Kimberly Nish were immediately back in the fast lane courtesy of Shared Belief (Candy Ride {Arg})’s jaw-dropping score in the GIII Hollywood Prevue S. 

“We got hookset from one right into the other,” Kevin Nish commented. 

Racing under the banner of KMN Racing LLC, the couple of nearly 28 years owned 15% of Mizdirection and currently possess a 10% interest in the unbeaten morning-line favorite for the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic. Think that’s impressive? KMN Racing is only in its third year of operation. 

“I recall going to the races several times when I was in high school and in college [at UCLA] and I was going to quit school to become a professional horseplayer,” Kevin Nish–the CEO of GeoVera Insurance Holdings–reflected. “Cooler heads prevailed and I had the idea that maybe we should own a racehorse about three years ago.” 

The 59-year-old native of the Golden State continued, “I looked into the local area up here in Northern California and found that there was a full-service Thoroughbred farm about 20 miles from our house in Fairfield. We went out to Victory Rose Thoroughbreds in Vacaville and met [owner/trainer] Ellen Jackson. One thing led to another and she introduced me to [bloodstock agents] Jason Litt and Alex Solis II and here we are.” 

Litt and Solis II, of course, were responsible for the private acquisition of last term’s champion 2-year-old male following his runaway debut score for trainer Jedd B. Josephson and breeders Pam and Martin Wygod at Golden Gate in October. They also get the credit for purchasing Mizdirection at auction and setting up her syndication as well. Shared Belief and Mizdirection have both raced in the black-and-blue silks of popular sports talk show host Jim Rome (click here for a profile on Rome’s Jungle Racing in TDN’s 2013 Breeders’ Cup preview edition). 

“Miz was in the first package of Thoroughbreds that we purchased for racing after starting with our two- or three-horse broodmare band–it was like catching lightning in a bottle,” Kevin Nish explained. “After two Breeders’ Cup wins, we certainly expected it to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Jim and Janet [Rome] and Kim and I are now having a twice-in-a-lifetime experience with Shared.” 

Kimberly Nish added, “Mizdirection was a really special horse. I love saying that when she had to go under the block it felt like I was selling one of my own children. She was a wonderful, beautiful animal. We adored her.” 

The Nishes are also well-vested in the California breeding business with a broodmare band of 16. They also own 13 yearlings,10 foals and pieces of four local stallions. KMN Racing’s 10 horses in training are spread out amongst Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer, Mike Puype and Steve Sherman. 

“We’re breeding Cal-breds,” Kevin Nish explained. “We started off with the idea that we’d breed them ourselves. Kimberly especially likes going to the farm and seeing the babies. We have a teenage daughter [Amelia, 14] who likes to go out to the barn as well. It’s a long road before you actually see any results, though. We’re just now getting our first set of yearlings to the training barn.” 

Shared Belief, on the other hand, has certainly provided plenty of instant gratification. The dark bay rattled off six straight wins after switching hands and moving to the Hollendorfer barn last fall, including the GI CashCall Futurity Dec. 14, GII Los Alamitos Derby July 5 and GI TVG Pacific Classic Aug. 24. He most recently overcame a well-documented brutal trip to narrowly defeat his elders for the second straight time in the GI Awesome Again S. at Santa Anita Sept. 27. Shared Belief’s ownership group also includes Hollendorfer, Litt and Solis II and Dr. George Todaro. 

“We were all together for the CashCall Futurity and Pacific Classic, but when Shared ran in his first race back [in his sophomore debut] at Golden Gate [May 26 allowance], it was just us up here,” Kevin Nish said. “Our iPhones were text messaging and running video of everything–here he is saddling, here he is in the walking ring, going to the post, etc–boom, boom, boom.” 

He continued, “Jim [Rome] is quite interested and he’s very passionate about both Miz and Shared. I know he had the same feeling as Kim when Miz sold, it was a tough day for him. But she’s in a really good spot in France now [after selling to Al Shaqab] and Jim got to go over and visit her and was quite full of smiles when he got to see what her new situation was like.” 

Nish’s insurance company provides residential earthquake policies in California, Oregon and Washington as well as residential windstorm/hurricane protection in Hawaii. He has been with GeoVera for more than 20 years. 

Despite all of their immediate success on the big stage, the down-to-earth couple has remained just as humble as ever. 

“I don’t have to have any experience with the Breeders’ Cup Classic to realize that we are extraordinarily lucky and blessed to be involved with this horse and our partners and professional horsemen that have helped us along the way,” Kevin Nish said. “We have one that we’re entering today for a $4,000 non-winners of two and I’m going to be just as excited and interested in that one as I am in Shared.” 

His other half added, “When your horse is coming down the stretch and passes everybody, whether it’s the Breeders’ Cup or a claimer, it’s the most incredible high and just the most awesome feeling in the world.” 

Kimberly Nish concluded, “To me, horseracing is kind of like golf. You can go out there and bang your brain out for four hours, and then you take one shot that is perfect and you keep going back to try and do it again.” 

What are the chances of a third straight ‘hole-in-one’ for the Nishes at the Breeders’ Cup? The morning-line odds maker says 9-5.