Solo Select Graduate to Futurity Champion: Too Hot To Tagg’s $559,000 Ride is #Unreal

“DO YOU WANT TO WIN?” asked Bo Warren, Too Hot To Tagg’s trainer as a two-year-old.

Kenny Platt chuckled.

“I’m serious”, Warren pressed.

“Yeah I love winning”, replied Platt.

That was it. A fleeting exchange after the Futurity Sale Preview at Rapp Ranch, words tossed like a match into dry grass.

What followed? A ride no one could have seen coming.

This is the tale of a long-haired yearling colt, bred by Wes & Lindy Ashlock and raised by Robert Nobles of Abilene, Texas, who changed hands in a Solo Select Sale, unaware that destiny had bigger plans. At just four years old, he’s etched his name in history—winning over $559,000 and claiming the NCHA Futurity Championship.

Unleashing The VERY Best

As Too Hot To Tagg (Hashtags x Too Hot by Hottish) comes out of the arena after the Super Stakes’s finals in Fort Worth, Becca Platt sits high above the John Justin Arena stands. She’s here to unravel the tale of the cutting industry's hottest duo: Too Hot To Tagg and Kenny Platt—a team stitched together by fate, grit, and a little bit of magic.

Before diving in, Becca Platt wants to express her and Kenny’s deep gratitude to industry leaders like Melanie, Ty Smith, and Jeremy Barwick. Their sales bring "top-tier performance horses to trainers, making the process easier, more accessible, and always rooted in integrity and trust."

“We owe them so much. Without them, we’d never have him”, she says.

Too Hot To Tagg: A “Kenny Platt Type of Horse”

It started with a hunch. Becca Platt remembers that Kenny had seen Too Hot To Tagg in the NCHA Futurity Sale and liked him. Bo Warren, who had purchased the horse from the Solo Select Sale a year earlier, had talked to him about the horse several times as he always thought he was a “Kenny Platt type of horse."

Warren remembers those early days: “He was a bit gangly, all legs and energy - fifteen rides in though, I knew he wasn’t an ordinary colt. He was such a cowy, feely type of horse. I knew he was a high caliber horse, an individual that would be competitive in Open Finals throughout his career”. Watching his round-pen video for Solo Select’s online sale sealed it: the way he sliced back across himself and on the correct lead, going around so level, really athletic, nothing looked hard to achieve for him. “I have to try that”, Warren thought.

A shot in the dark—and oh, did it hit the mark.

Too Hot To Tagg & Kenny Platt at the Super Stakes in March 2025

The Futurity Champions

So what is a “Kenny Platt type of horse”?

Becca grins, picturing that first time she saw Too Hot To Tagg work under Kenny’s hand. “Insanely cowy,” she says. “Fast across a cow, quick to a stop. He demonstrated a unique kind of style." Watching him turn once each direction, she knew he had the qualities in him to be a top horse.

Warren saw it too. The way he hit the ground, wild and fierce, like Platt’s best horses always do. A horse with a little bit of a short fuse, sure—but Kenny? He’d know how to leave him alone, let that raw talent unfurl.

It’s 100% A TEAM that won the NCHA Futurity in 2024. Too Hot To Tagg fit Kenny like a second skin, and together, they swept the Futurity. From Wes Ashlock to Dan Edwards, Bo Warren to Jeremy Barwick, Jamie Nail to the barn crew, every soul in this story swore they were meant to be.

When Everyone Does the Right Thing

“This is a story where everything fell into place, where everyone did the right thing, everyone did their part," Becca whispers. Bo Warren moved mountains to make sure the horse would end up in Kenny Platt’s barn. Jamie Nail never held Kenny back from doing his job or questioned any of his decisions: “He trusted us blindly—embraced a program he didn’t even know.”

And then there’s the twist: Kenny Platt wasn’t even supposed to show Too Hot To Tagg at the NCHA Futurity. His Hashtags filly got injured and they had to pull the plug on her.

Too Hot To Tagg got his shot. He was 100% trained and ready. Here was his opportunity to show the world that he is an absolutely stand-out show horse, that when it’s show time, he’s all about business.

Becca’s eyes gleam as she relives that night. “It’s so hard for everything to align, to come together, so many things can happen, it was awesome to see it, it was emotional to say the least."

For Kenny, winning the Futurity was the dream. For their son Carter, it was pure magic. “First cow? Good,” Carter recalls, ecstatic. “Second? Great. Third? I knew—he was incredible. He was gonna win it.”

There is nothing like victory.

That night, in the Will Rogers Coliseum, Too Hot To Tagg’s name buzzed on every lip, the little red roan gelding who’d just carved his name into history.

Savoring the ride

From now on, Kenny wants to savor the ride. With his experience, he’s more than capable—no more pressure choking the joy. He’s got the scars and the wisdom to truly appreciate it. He’s got his eyes on showing Hush Puppy (yep, that’s Too Hot To Tagg’s barn name—Hashtags is “Hashbrown” to Kenny, so it fits). “He’s a show horse through and through,” Becca says. “Loves his apple cinnamon cookies, hates missing out. Total FOMO king—unless he’s napping, which he absolutely owns,” laughs Ella Blazek, his loper.

GRATIFYIN’

He’s just one of those horses that have it all: talent, athleticism, a good mind, and an incredible heart. He is so special to the Platt family and everybody around him.

“What a cool horse. What a neat story” Warren muses, tipping his hat. Feathers in caps aplenty, all thanks to Too Hot To Tagg.

This horse’s name fits him like a glove: nobody wants him to tag and quit the cow. When he works a cow, Hush Puppy is #PureMagic