Ramsey Goes International

By Michael Illiano 
   Last Saturday, leading North American owners and breeders Ken and Sarah Ramsey turned their focus abroad and captured the $214,000 Sandy Lane Barbados Gold Cup with their 8-year-old gelding Major Marvel (Bernstein), becoming the first American owners to win the island’s premier race. Locally considered a Grade1 event, the race does not generally attract much international attention. But with the success the Ramseys experienced domestically last year, they were looking to expand their horizons. 
   “Last year, when we had such an outstanding year, winning the [Eclipse Award for Outstanding Owner], and [seeing homebred Kitten’s Joy named champion sire], I was asked what do you wanna do for an encore,” Ken Ramsey said. “And I said ‘Well, I wanna try to go international.’” 
    Ramsey said that he had had his sights set on the race for a while, but was finally spurred into action when a bloodstock agent approached him representing a group from Barbados who wanted to buy a Kitten’s Joy foal to run in the Barbados Gold Cup. 
   “And I said, ‘I was thinking about winning it myself’,” Ramsey said. “I immediately called [trainer] Mike Maker, who is always game to go on some wild adventure that I dream up, and we started to research what it would take to win that race.” 
   Initially, Ramsey planned to enter a horse sired by Kitten’s Joy, but he soon realized that the race called for a specific style of runner. The Savannah Garrison Racecourse, where the race is held, is shaped like a rounded triangle, making the turns especially tight. If a horse does not have the early speed to be one of the leaders going through the first turn, they will likely be squeezed out of contention. 
   “We settled on Major Marvel, who I claimed for $10,000 at Keeneland in 2012, and he’s the winningest horse I have ever owned [with 14 wins],” Ramsey said. “We decided he had the early speed and the distance was right, so he was the perfect choice.” 
   Ramsey targeted Patrick Husbands, who was born and raised in Barbados and had already won the Barbados Gold Cup three times, to pilot Major Marvel, who Husbands had ridden before. Husbands was still recovering from a broken leg he had suffered in the fall, but was determined to ride in the Gold Cup. 
   “I wanted Patrick Husbands to ride for us, the only thing was he had broken his leg in three places last fall. Ramsey said. “He showed me his leg and it didn’t have any fat on it at all and you could see two screws sticking out.” 
   In order to ride for Ramsey, Husbands not only had to grit through his injury, but had to negotiate his way out of a prior commitment. Initially, Husbands was committed to ride for Barbados real estate magnate Sir Charles Williams in the Gold Cup. Husbands asked Sir Williams to let him off to ride Major Marvel in the Gold Cup, and in return he promised to ride for Williams in the two other Grade 1 races that day. 
   Husbands piloted Major Marvel to meet the course’s demands, tracking the pacesetter from second through the tight early turn and opening up in the far turn to cruise to a 3 1/2-length victory. With the victory, Husbands is tied for the most wins in the Barbados Gold Cup with four. Husbands went on to make history again that day, rewarding Sir Williams for letting him jump to Major Marvel by winning both of the other Grade 1 events that day, making Husbands the first jockey in the history of the event to win all three Grade 1 races on Gold Cup Day. Ramsey credited Husbands for both the success in the race itself, and the enthusiastic response that followed. 
   “Part of what made the win so popular was that Patrick Husbands rode the horse,” Ramsey said. “He’s the local hero down there and he came down on crutches and still came out with a win.” 
   After the race, Ramsey paraded Major Marvel past the grandstand with Husbands still aboard, as is the race’s tradition, to a standing ovation. 
   “Me and [local trainer] Jonathan Simpson, who I have to give a lot of credit to, walked the horse probably the length of a football field, and we had people on both sides of us cheering and waving,” Ramsey said. 
   Ramsey wanted to share the win with the general population, so after he left the winner’s circle, he took the trophy to the Savannah Garrison Members’ Club, where it had never been before. He bought five bottles of champagne to fill the trophy with, and racing fans came by to take pictures and drink from the Gold Cup. 
   “I probably took 500 pictures with people and the fans drank every drop of champagne,” Ramsey said. “This was probably the most fun I’ve ever had at a racetrack.” 
   The next day, a local trainer who also served as a polo announcer convinced Ramsey to take the trophy to a polo match between Cheshire and Barbados. Ramsey entered with the trophy to another standing ovation and was rewarded with another honor. The British High Commissioner was on hand to roll out the ball to start the polo match, the equivalent of throwing out the first pitch at a baseball game, but when Ramsey showed up, track officials insisted he throw out the ball. 
   “I don’t know much about polo, so I needed some direction, but the response was amazing,” Ramsey said. “I felt like a local celebrity.” 
   Local horsemen were enthusiastic about Ramsey’s visit as well. 
   “There were 10 other horses in that race, and I met every single owner,” Ramsey said. “I think I got dozens of business cards and people asking me to come back. So it was a business trip, too.” 
   Ramsey has been invited back for the Barbados Gold Cup next year and hopes to repeat his success with a horse by Kitten’s Joy. He is continuing to raise his international profile, with plans to breed Kitten’s Joy to seven of Sheikh Mohammad’s mares this year, and potentially follow up on the interest in the stallion his trip to Barbados generated. 
   “We’re trying to make our stallion a world class sire,” Ramsey said. “And we’re always keeping our eye out for international races. Anyplace they race horses, we’re willing to travel.”