Stephanie’s Kitten Wins F/M Turf for America
Updated: October 31, 2015 at 8:29 pm
Ken and Sarah Ramsey’s Stephanie’s Kitten (Kitten’s Joy), runner-up behind stablemate Dayatthespa (City Zip) a year ago, got her second Breeders’ Cup career victory Saturday at Keeneland, storming from last-to-first to record an emphatic 1 1/4-length victory in the GI Breeders’ Cup F/M Turf. She adds Saturday’s win to her triumph in the 2011 GII Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.
The 6-year-old mare, bought back for $3.95 million at Fasig-Tipton November last year, is scheduled to return to that sales ring Sunday evening as hip 123 while selling as a racing or broodmare prospect.
“She’s tough, I’ll tell you,” said trainer Chad Brown, winning his seventh Breeders’ Cup race overall and second of the day. “Mr. and Mrs. Ramsey deserve a lot of credit because they had a chance to sell her last year and they bought her back and raced her as a 6-year-old, which isn’t a popular thing to do. They were rewarded today. She won here today just six miles from where she was born and raised and I am so happy for them.”
Ken Ramsey paid tribute to his hard-knocking mare.
“What can I say about the mare that hasn’t already been said,” Ramsey commented. “She’s had a tough-luck career. There’s a lot of seconds on there that could have been wins–just a head bob or two or a little more pace in the race. Today, she went out in a blaze of glory. We’re very proud of her.”
Dropped out the back early on after breaking from the outside, Stephanie’s Kitten was allowed to gallop along at the rear as Secret Gesture (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) took the field through fractions of :23.26, :49.26 and 1:13.94. Stephanie’s Kitten made eye-catching progress down along the rail on the turn. Ridden for luck in the lane, she continued to close ground towards the inside in the final furlong and a half, knifed between horses with 100 yards to race and stayed on well late despite drifting out in the final strides. Legatissimo went to her knees at the break, raced in midfield and may have been hampered late by the eventual winner, but no action was taken. Queen’s Jewel was consigned to a wide run around the second turn and came home very nicely to be third.
“I was quite concerned early that she fell pretty far back and I wasn’t sure how quick the pace would be,” admitted trainer Chad Brown. “She was five wide in that first turn and far behind, two things you don’t want in a turf race, two turns. But Irad [Ortiz] made a bold decision down the backside to make up for lost position early and creep up inside, which I felt was very risky at the time. Luckily, the seas parted and he had a ton of horse under him. I’m just so proud of her, the way she kicked home.”
Ortiz added, “I broke from the outside, so I was trying to save some ground. I found a hole to go through around the quarter pole and then when I asked her, she just took off.”
Trainer David Wachman was satisified with favored Legatissimo’s runner-up effort.
“She ran a good race, but she’s had a long season,” Wachman said of the three-time Group 1 winner. “I was pleased with her run. She met a good horse today. No excuses.”
Stephanie’s Kitten began her 6-year-old campaign with a win in the GIII Hillsborough S. at Tampa Bay Downs in March. She was fourth in the June 5 GII New York S. and fifth in the July 25 GI Diana S. She was third, promoted to second, in a driving rain in the Aug. 15 GI Beverly D. S. and found her ideal soft conditions to win the Oct. 5 GI Flower Bowl Invitational S. last time out. Now a nine-time graded stakes winner, Stephanie’s Kitten won the 2011 GI Darley Alcibiades S., 2013 GI Longines Just a Game S., and the 2014 and 2015 renewals of the Flower Bowl.
Stephanie’s Kitten’s yearling full-sister sold for $190,000 at this year’s Keenland September sale. Her dam Unfold the Rose (Catienus) RNA’d for $325,000 at the 2013 Keeneland November sale while carrying that yearling and, again in foal to Kitten’s Joy, is catalogued as hip 141 for Sunday’s Fasig-Tipton November sale. Ken Ramsey purchased Stephanie’s Kitten’s second dam Bail Out Becky, winner of the 1995 GI Del Mar Oaks, for $40,000 at the 1993 Keeneland September sale.
Saturday, Keeneland
BREEDERS’ CUP FILLY AND MARE TURF-GI, $1,840,000, KEE, 10-31, 3yo/up, f/m, 1 3/16mT, 1:56.22, gd.
1–STEPHANIE’S KITTEN, 124, m, 6, by Kitten’s Joy
1st Dam: Unfold the Rose, by Catienus
2nd Dam: Bail Out Becky, by Red Ransom
3rd Dam: Becky Be Good, by Naskra
($30,000 RNA Ylg ’10 KEESEP; $17,000 RNA 2yo ’11 OBSAPR;
$3,950,000 RNA 5yo ’14 FTKNOV). O/B-Kenneth & Sarah
Ramsey (KY); T-Chad C. Brown; J-Irad Ortiz Jr. $1,100,000.
Lifetime Record: 25-11-4-4, $4,292,904. Werk Nick Rating: A+.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.[bullet ad=”taylor-made-ftknov-hip-123-stephanieskitten”][bullet ad=”taylor-made-ftnov-hip-141″][bullet ad=”eqb-exceptionalcardio”][bullet ad=”legacy-bloodstock-shell”]
2–Legatissimo (Ire), 120, f, 3, Danehill Dancer (Ire)–Yummy
Mummy (GB), by Montjeu (Ire). (350,000gns Ylg ’13 TAOCT).
O-Michael B. Tabor, Mrs. John Magnier & Derrick Smith;
B-Newsells Park Stud (IRE); T-David Wachman. $360,000.[bullet ad=”irt-shell”]
3–Queen’s Jewel (GB), 120, f, 3, Pivotal (GB)–Safari Queen
(Arg), by Lode. O/B-Wertheimer et Frere (GB); T-Frederic
Head. $200,000.
Margins: 1 1/4, 2 1/4, NK. Odds: 7.80, 0.90, 13.20.
Also Ran: Sentiero Italia, Photo Call (Ire), Watsdachances (Ire), Secret Gesture (GB), Miss France (Ire), Dacita (Chi), Sharla Rae. Scratched: Talmada, Bawina (Ire), Elektrum (Ire), Hard Not to Like. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.