‘Kitten’ Sets New Course Record in Joe Hirsch

With plenty of help from his table-setting stablemate Shining Copper (Aragorn {Ire}) Saturday, Ken and Sarah Ramsey’s Big Blue Kitten (Kitten’s Joy) scurried home in course record time of 2:23.39 to take Belmont’s GI Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, a “Win and You’re In” qualifier for the GI Breeders’ Cup Turf Oct. 31. Slumber (GB) (Cacique {Ire}) completed the Chad Brown trainee exacta narrowly over Twilight Eclipse (Purim).

Big Blue Kitten settled in well back as rabbit Shining Copper ensured plenty of pace, opening up a double-digit lead early through impossible splits for the distance of :23.79, :47.18 and 1:11.45. The 7-year-old began to advance rapidly as the leader threw in the towel approaching the straight, and was stacked four or five wide as he asserted past the quarter pole. Hitting the front in the blink of an eye, he took several awkward strides approaching the line, but was never in serious threat of relinquishing his advantage.

Big Blue Kitten’s winning time bested the course record of 2:24 1/5 posted by Fantastic Light in the 2001 GI Breeders’ Cup Turf.

“He’s just such a good horse, so honest and puts you to it all,” said veteran pilot Joe Bravo, who was celebrating his latest highlight in what has been a banner year in the saddle. “You’re watching the pace, but it’s kind of nice to sit back and see the pace unfolding. The pace was sort of ‘stop go, stop go’ but at the top of the stretch, I said ‘go’ and he said ‘okay.’ I had my hands full with him but I thought. ‘hey, let them catch us now… When it comes down to it, he’s an amazing horse and he deserves to hold a track record. He’s done so good that he makes you look good.”

Big Blue Kitten kicked off his season successfully in the local GIII Fort Marcy S. May 2, and was second to Slumber in the GI Manhattan S. June 6. He took a second GI United Nations S. at Monmouth July 5 over that same runner and Twilight Eclipse, and was last seen missing by a neck in the GI Arlington Million Aug. 15–just 3/4 of a length in front of Shining Copper.

“I thought they both ran terrific,” Chad Brown said of the top two. “[Saturday], Big Blue Kitten got the better of Slumber at a mile and a half. I’m proud of both horses. The race pretty much went the way I expected. Shining Copper has run admirably all summer as the pacemaker for us; nearly won a couple of Grade Is. I didn’t want to deter from our plan of him being the pacemaker, and we stuck with that plan. He did his job and set up the race for Big Blue Kitten and his stablemate. Maybe with 70 yards to go, I was a little concerned, but he had enough.”

Saturday, Belmont
JOE HIRSCH TURF CLASSIC S.-GI, $600,000, BEL, 9-26, 3yo/up, 1 1/2mT, 2:23.39, fm.
1–BIG BLUE KITTEN, 126, r, 7, by Kitten’s Joy
1st Dam: Spent Gold, by Unaccounted For
2nd Dam: Spend a Dream, by Spend a Buck
3rd Dam: Mystical Mood, by Roberto
O/B-Kenneth L. & Sarah K. Ramsey (KY); T-Chad C.
Brown; J-Joe Bravo. $360,000. Lifetime Record:
MGISW, 29-14-8-4, $2,636,830. Werk Nick Rating:
B. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.

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2–Slumber (GB), 126, h, 7, Cacique (Ire)–Sound
Asleep, by Woodman. ($200,000 6yo ’14 KEENOV).
O-M. Dubb, Sheep Pond Partners, Bethlehem Stables
LLC & G. Aisquith; B-Millsec, Ltd. (GB); T-Chad C.
Brown. $120,000.

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3–Twilight Eclipse, 126, g, 6, Purim–My Twilight
Dancer, by Twilight Agenda. ($1,000 Ylg ’10
KEEJAN). O-West Point Thoroughbreds; B-Epona
Thoroughbreds (KY); T-Thomas Albertrani. $60,000.

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Margins: 3/4, NO, 6 1/4. Odds: 2.50, 3.60, 5.30.
Also Ran: Red Rifle, Shining Copper, Perfect Title, Quiet Force.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.