Last Go Around for Stephanie's Kitten
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Photo: Coglianese Photos/Chelsea Durand
Stephanie's Kitten wins the 2015 Flower Bowl.
Ken Ramsey thinks a lot of his "kittens," particularly Stephanie's Kitten, who was offered for sale a year ago after her second-place finish in the 2014 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (gr. IT). Ramsey, who bred and owns the now-6-year-old mare with his wife, Sarah, put a $3.99 million reserve on Stephanie's Kitten, which proved a bridge too far, so the Ramseys bought her back and brought her back for another go-around this season with trainer Chad Brown.
Stephanie's Kitten rewarded her connections with a victory in the Flower Bowl Invitational Stakes (gr. IT) Oct. 3, setting her up for a return run in the Filly & Mare Turf at Keeneland Oct. 31. Stephanie's Kitten, already a World Championships winner on the strength of her 2011 victory in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (gr. IIT), also ran well in the Aug. 15 Beverly D. Stakes (gr. IT), finishing third and placed second via a disqualification.
"She is a mare who gets good in the autumn," said Brown as he watched his horses gallop at Keeneland the morning of Oct. 27 under a light but steady rain. "And she likes soft turf. She's rounding back into form and it looks like she'll get the right conditions for her."
Stephanie's Kitten will be sold at Fasig-Tipton's November mixed sale the day after what will likely be her final race. This time around, Ramsey said he is willing to let go even if the price doesn't climb as high as last year's reserve.
"The economy has dropped a little and she's a year older, meaning that's one less foal she can deliver," he said. "But I don't think we can afford to keep a mare that valuable on the farm. She's won more than $3.1 million and she'll make a good broodmare."
Stephanie's Kitten drew post 11 in the Filly & Mare Turf, which didn't set Ramsey's heart aglow. He said he'd like jockey Irad Ortiz to place the mare mid-pack.
"When they wheel out at the head of the stretch, we'd like him to bring her out in the clear, show her daylight, and let her run," Ramsey said. "We don't want her getting blocked. I just hope there's enough pace in there to set it up for her."
Ramsey was disappointed last year when Stephanie's Kitten closed like an express train only to fall 1 1/4 lengths shy of fellow Brown trainee Dayatthespa, who was allowed to set tepid fractions and cruise home. But Ramsey did score in last year's World Championships with Bobby's Kitten in the Turf Sprint (gr. IT) after getting a poor, front-running ride on that runner the year before in the Juvenile Turf (gr. IT). So there is precedent for a big comeback in the Ramsey camp.
Ramsey Farm in Nicholasville, Ky., stands Kitten's Joy , North America's leading sire two years ago, and the foundation of the Ramseys' success at the races. Big Blue Kitten, another homebred by Kitten's Joy, is currently 7 and a contender in the Breeders' Cup Turf (gr. IT) following victories this season in the Turf Classic and United Nations stakes (both gr. IT).
"Neither Stephanie's Kitten nor Big Blue Kitten has slowed down, which is a tribute to Kitten's Joy that they stay sound at their ages," noted Ramsey. "They've got sound bones, and when you have a trainer that takes his time with them (Brown also trains Big Blue Kitten), coming out of the Bobby Frankel school like Chad has, they last a long time."
The Ramseys have seven "Kittens" running at Keeneland over the Breeders' Cup weekend. The female "Kittens" are either retained by the Ramseys if they match up well with other stallions in which they're interested, or like Stephanie's Kitten, will be sold to shore up the bottom line.
None of them, though, is gamer than Stephanie's Kitten.