Admiral Kitten Runs for "The Franchise" Sire
Kitten's Joy, the leading sire in North America this year by Grade 1 winners, has been given a lofty nickname by the workers at Ramsey Farm in Nicholasville, Ky.
"We call him 'The Franchise,'" said Ken Ramsey, who owns Ramsey Farm and campaigns many of Kitten's Joy's progeny, including Admiral Kitten, who is part of coupled entry that was installed as the 7-2 morning-line favorite for Saturday's Grade 1, $500,000 Jamaica Handicap for 3-year-olds at Belmont Park.
Kitten's Joy won seven graded stakes for the Ramseys during his career, including the 2004 Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational at Belmont. He has sired five Grade 1 winners this year and is ranked second on the North American sires list by stakes winners (18), stakes wins (24), and earnings (more than $8.9 million).
Last Saturday, Big Blue Kitten, also owned by the Ramseys, came up a nose shy of emulating his sire when he was second in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic. The Ramseys will try again this Saturday with Admiral Kitten, who enters the Jamaica off a win in the Grade 1 Secretariat, a race Kitten's Joy won in 2004.
Prior to the Secretariat, Admiral Kitten had finished second in four straight races, three in graded stakes.
"We're delighted he finally won a stakes race, and it happened to be in a Grade 1," said Ramsey. "He had been knocking on the door, but these come-from-behind horses have to deal with traffic. Many of these turf races come down to whoever gets the trip."
Admiral Kitten rallied from 10th to win the Secretariat, and to ensure a quick tempo for the stretch runner Ramsey also entered front runner Get in Line in the Jamaica.
"In some of those races, there wasn't any pace," said Ramsey. "His entry-mate should ensure a fast pace, so we hope he can close into some fast fractions."