After breakthrough 2019, Carrera Cat to eye New York-bred sprints
Trainer John Morrison is keeping his barn in good order, led by popular New York-bred stakes winner Carrera Cat, who breezed a bullet half-mile in 47.01 on April 16 on the Belmont Park dirt training track.
Owned by Stone Bridge Farm and Very Un Stable, the now 5-year-old daughter of Courageous Cat enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2019, winning four of eight starts including a score in her stakes debut in the Union Avenue in August at Saratoga Race Course.
Morrison said Carrera Cat, bred by W.S. Farish, enjoyed some downtime at Camden Training Center in South Carolina after completing her campaign with an off-the-board effort in the NYSSS Staten Island in November at Aqueduct.
"She's back for another campaign. We're just hurrying up and waiting. Hopefully, we get back to running soon," said Morrison. "She needed a little break. She's probably about a month away from being race ready.
"She danced every dance and tailed off a little bit at the end of the year," continued Morrison. "We gave her some time off in Camden, and she's been back here for about a month now and settled back into her routine."
Live racing on the NYRA circuit is on hold because of changing circumstances in the racing community relative to the coronavirus pandemic, but more than 1,300 horses continue to train at Belmont Park.
Morrison said the talented bay, who boasts a record of 16: 5-3-2 and purse earnings of more than $300,000, will be pointed toward New York-bred sprint stakes.
"Everything will have to be revamped and we don't know yet what the stakes schedule will look like, but the plan would be to follow the filly and mare state-bred stakes schedule," said Morrison.
Morris said the Union Avenue score by Carrera Cat was a special one for the barn when besting graded-stakes winner Holiday Disguise and stakes winner Jc's Shooting Star.
"We had targeted that race from her second start off the layoff in May, and she came into the race the right way," said Morrison. "She beat a really good field that day. We were so pleased with her."