I had a conversation with Chris Campbell of Smokey's Stable today and it prompted me to publish this article, which is basically just a reiteration of the emails we exchanged.
Gate Speed, Early Speed, Top Speed, and Stamina are all easy to comprehend, but that Kick rating seems to confound people and there are even differences of opinion as to it's effect and worth.
Some people do not give the Kick rating much credence, but I think it is very important, and the higher the number, the better.
The distance line on the old AR's was originally determined by using the kick number. So, if you had a horse with a kick of 1000, it would show up as liking a lot of distance, even though the stamina number may have only been 67, which is more indicative of a sprinter.
My horse, French Twist is a perfect example. He has a high kick of 1068, but his stamina of 67 limits him to being a miler at best, regardless of the fact that his AR says he like distance. No way he could make even 9-10 furlongs competitively.
I like a high kick though, even in a sprinter/miler, and I try to breed for it. A high number lessens the possibility that they will run out of gas in the last furlong. I have seen horses who have great speed numbers, but because they are handicapped by a minuscule kick rating, they can't make more than 5F, even though they may have an adequate stamina rating. I've had mature horses that have had Kick ratings under 500 and they have all been unable to compete above 5F.
Methy Bus has a great stamina of 73, so you'd think he might make 16F comfortably. He can't because his kick is only 742. In fact, he seems to top out at about 12F. Astrapios has a 72 stamina, but he can run sub-3:19 at 16F because his kick is up in the 1150 range.
It's really not complicated... whether you are a sprinter or a stayer, the higher the number, the better. So... don't make it more difficult than it is.
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