Ramseys Bring 'Million' Duo to Turf Classic

Ken and Sarah Ramsey are looking for Big Blue Kitten to collect his second grade I win of the year Sept. 26 in the $600,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Stakes (gr. IT) at Belmont Park.

The 1 1/2-mile turf contest is a Breeders' Cup Challenge "Win and You're In" qualifier for the Breeders' Cup Longines Turf (gr. IT) and an important springboard for the championship race, which is run at the same distance. Since the inaugural running of the Breeders' Cup World Championships in 1984, six Turf Classic winners have won the Breeders' Cup Turf. A total of 10 Turf Classic winners have won or placed in the Turf.

Big Blue Kitten doesn't need to the win the Turf Classic to earn his way into the Breeders' Cup, he already secured a spot in the gate by winning the July 5 United Nations Stakes (gr. IT) at Monmouth Park. The Ramseys' 7-year-old homebred son of homebred stallion Kitten's Joy   has finished either first or second in all his starts this year. He comes into the Turf Classic off a valiant second in the Arlington Million XXXIII Stakes (gr. IT) where he finished a neck behind The Pizza Man. Big Blue Kitten will be making his third Turf Classic start after finishing fourth last year and second in 2013.

Chad Brown trains Big Blue Kitten and two other contenders in the Turf Classic field. One of the others is Shining Copper, a 5-year-old son of Aragorn also owned by the Ramseys. Shining Copper led the field through much of the Arlington Million but gave way in the stretch to finish third three-quarters of a length behind Big Blue Kitten.

Brown also will be starting grade I winner Slumber, who is owned by Michael Dubb, Sheep Pond Partners, Bethlehem Stables, and Gary Aisquith. The 7-year-old British-bred son of Cacique got the best of Big Blue Kitten in the Knob Creek Manhattan Stakes (gr. IT), which was run as part of the Belmont Stakes presented by DraftKings (gr. I) undercard.

Other top contenders in the seven-horse field include Red Rifle and Twilight Eclipse, the second- and third-place finishers of the $1 million Sword Dancer Stakes (gr. IT).

Red Rifle is a grade II winner owned by Twin Creeks Racing Stables, which co-bred the son of Giant's Causeway   with Tom and Nancy Clark. The gelding is trained by Todd Pletcher and has won twice and hit the board three times out of seven 2015 starts. He put togehter back to back stakes wins in June and July in the 1 1/4-mile Dominion Day Stakes (gr. IIIT) at Woodbine and the 1 3/8-mile Bowling Green Handicap (gr. IIT) at Saratoga Race Course.

Twilight Eclipse is owned by West Point Thoroughbreds and trained by Tom Albertrani. The 6-year-old gelding by Purim owns the world record for 1 1/2 miles on the turf (set in 2013 at Gulfstream Park) but has had a tough time finding the winner's circle for the past couple years. Out of 13 starts since the beginning of 2014, he's finished second or third eight times and won twice. His last victory came in the Man o' War Stakes (gr. IT) at Belmont Park in May.