Missed field goal by Younghoe Koo saved this Thoroughbred trainer's life

Thoroughbred trainer Mark Toothaker credits a missed field goal by then-New York Giants kicker Younghoe Koo with saving his life.

Toothaker − a stallion sales manager for Spenthift Farm, whose horse Further Ado is set to compete in the 152nd Kentucky Derby − told the Associated Press he was watching Monday Night Football in December 2025 when Koo's missed field goal against the New England Patriots struck him as so comical that he burst into laughter, only to unexpectedly suffer a seizure.

His wife, Malory, a nurse at a rehabilitation hospital who specializes in brain injuries, initially thought he was joking, but quickly called for emergency assistance. At the hospital, a CT scan revealed a tennis ball-sized brain tumor, which could have otherwise gone undetected.

After surgeons successfully removed the benign brain tumor, Toothaker returned home within a week, filled with gratitude for the unlikely chain of events that led to its discovery. The missed field goal, he now says, was nothing short of a blessing in disguise.

“The kicker saved my life because it could’ve happened any other time,” Toothaker said. “I wholeheartedly believe I was in the right spot at the right time, and he was the trigger for that happening. It was a miracle.”

2026 Kentucky Derby horse Further Ado with exercise rider Jonathan Santiago during a morning workout April 23, 2026 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.

Spenthift’s Further Ado enters this year's Run for the Roses with 6-1 odds and will break from the No. 18 post position at Churchill Downs.