Kensei, owned by Stonestreet Stables and Gulf Coast Farms (breeder), is a 3-year old bay colt by Mr. Greeley (Gone West) out of Private Feeling, a Belong To Me dam. He has transitioned from a precocious 2-year old to a strapping, intensely powerful 3-year old - maturing both mentally and physically during the 2009 summer season.

Despite recording a victory at six furlongs in his first-ever start, at age 2, during the 2008 Saratoga meet, Kensei ran a less impressive sixth in his second-ever bout five weeks later - the Grade 2 Futurity Stakes at Belmont Park. With strong confidence in his amazing potential, Kensei's connections stood patiently by the young colt, waiting until April of 2009 to reintroduce him to competition. The reward for their patience came in the form of Kensei's 1 3/4 length victory at Oaklawn Park in his post-layoff debut, followed by a commendable second-place finish three weeks later in the Derby Trial (G3) at Churchill Downs.

The colt then returned to Belmont Park on June 6th of 2009, running a strong third in the Woody Stephens Stakes (G2), where his Beyer score improved from a previous best of 84 to an eye-catching 98.

With his improvement in performances against increasingly classy company, Kensei was entered in the Dwyer Stakes (G2) on the 4th of July, again at Belmont, where a breakthrough performance resulted in a victory over such competition as Convocation and Warrior's Reward. Kensei had notched his first graded stakes victory and first triple-digit Beyer of 105 with Edgar Prado on board.

Prado would take the mount again on August 1st 2009, when Kensei returned to Saratoga exactly 360 days after breaking his maiden over The Spa's oval. That afternoon found Kensei adding an additional graded stakes victory to his resume, with a 2 1/4-length win over Warrior's Reward and Charitable Man in the Grade 2 $500,000 Jim Dandy Stakes. The Jim Dandy, a race that is no stranger to later-blooming 3-year old colts, is a popular prep race for Saratoga's Travers Stakes (G1) where Kensei will make his next start.