As noted thoroughbred owner Barry Irwin searched for a horse that could potentially work as a maiden voyage into ownership for Chiefs superstar tight end Travis Kelce, he came upon an aptly named gelding: Swift Delivery.
“I thought it was a cute name and appropriate for him. I thought he might get a kick out of it,” Irwin said. “We first and foremost liked the horse. … The whole thing seemed like it was preordained.”
Little did Irwin know just how fitting a match Swift Delivery and Kelce would be.
Kelce’s new racehorse is actually named after the three-time Super Bowl winner’s pop star girlfriend, Taylor Swift, trainer Mark Casse told The Post, having been christened well before the purchase.
“Travis didn’t just buy a horse — he bought a pretty good one,” Casse said. “This is a beautiful horse with a good pedigree by one of the top sires in the world.”
While the Swift Delivery-Taylor Swift connection seemed more happenstance at first than an actual connection, the two are actually intertwined.
D.J. Stable named the now 3-year-old racehorse with some family help, the girlfriend of one of the family members playing a leading role.
TikTok user @emslavs — who goes by Emily Slavkin on her social channels — posted last April how she and her boyfriend created a list of potential names for a horse.
“His grandfather owns a bunch of racehorses,” she said in the video.
She shared a list of the names, with Swift Delivery receiving a check mark that signified both her and her boyfriend’s approval of the name.
Kelce and Swift have been dating for more than a year, with their relationship blossoming during last NFL season, when Swift attended the majority of his games.
“I am a huge Swiftie, so I want her to be named something Taylor Swift-related,” Slavkin said.
After Bloodhorse broke the story Tuesday of Kelce’s ownership of the horse, she posted a follow-up video explaining the background for the name.
“I obviously came up with Swift Delivery because I love Taylor Swift, I want her to know who I am. Taylor, if you see this, I love you so much,” Slavkin said. “But now I found out today Travis Kelce bought my horse.
“So Taylor or Travis, I love you guys so much. Taylor, I just saw you in London for my birthday on the last night of the Eras Tour in Europe. I named a horse after you, I just love you so much. I hope Travis enjoys his new horse and I hope she (sic) goes on to win you guys lots of money and is just the most incredible horse in the entire world. Does this mean I’m kind of in Taylor’s universe?”
Even with the Swift-influenced name, the odds of Kelce’s actually owning the horse were perhaps as long as those of the Chiefs beginning a three-peat hunt in 2022.
Both are now realities.
It all started with Kelce’s friendship with Alex Zoldan, the son of Phantom Fireworks CEO Bruce Zoldan.
Phantom Fireworks is based out of Youngstown, Ohio — Kelce is an Ohio native who attended Cincinnati — and describes itself as “the unrivaled leader in the consumer fireworks industry” on its website.
The elder Zoldan is a longtime partner of Irwin’s, the founder of Team Valor International, and the two have a strong professional relationship that includes 2011 Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom.
Kelce attended this year’s Kentucky Derby with Alex. That’s where Irwin met him for the first time and the idea of Kelce’s potentially finding a horse to own took off.
“We broached the subject of buying a horse and he seemed interested,” Irwin said. “He’s a very charismatic guy. He was awesome.”
Fellow owner Gary Barber, who is also an established movie producer, called Irwin and told him of a horse for purchase named Swift Delivery.
“I said, ‘You got to be kidding,’” Irwin recalled.
They eventually worked out a deal with Kelce, Irwin, the two Zoldans and an unnamed partner, purchasing 25 percent of the horse, which sold in May for $55,000, per equibase.com.
Barber has the majority ownership percentage.
Swift Delivery has performed quite well since the purchase, although The Associated Press noted Kelce has only been involved with Swift Delivery for roughly one month.
He won his first race by 16 ¹/₂ lengths on June 23 and then triumphed again July 19.
Swift Delivery’s next race is set for Saturday in the Toronto Cup at Woodbine.
“He had to overcome a lot of adversity,” Casse said of the July 19 race. “He’s like a rising star. On Saturday, he’ll have another test against the biggest, toughest competition. I think he’s up to the task.”
Irwin said he does not expect to see Kelce in the near future since that overlaps with the 34-year-old’s quest for another Super Bowl.
But if the horse emerges as Casse and Irwin expect, there could be opportunities for Kelce to watch him compete in bigger races down the road.
“I think he’s got a chance to be a top horse,” Irwin said. “He’s got the pedigree, he’s got the desire and he’s a pretty impressive animal.”
With Kelce now in the horse racing world, it’s brought some extra buzz to the sport and continued the crossover with stars from other sports joining the ownership ranks.
Earlier this year, former Phillies World Series champion Jayson Werth’s horse, Dornoch, won the Belmont.
There certainly will be some added eyeballs on Swift Delivery now.
“My kids, who live all over North America, including in Canada, I got messages from them,” Casse said. “Everybody is excited, it’s like Travis is coming to a party or something.
“My wife and I are big fans of Travis and, of course, we’re Swifties. It’s cute, it’s nice, it’s exciting. It’s nice for horse racing. Now, we have to go out and perform.”
He added: “There’s nothing like owning a race horse when it wins.”
