Big Blue Kitten Punches Ticket to BC Turf
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Entering Saturday's Turf Classic Day at Belmont Park with runners in three of the card's five stakes, trainer Chad Brown had high expectations for the day. Beginning with a pair of respectable third and second-place finishes in the Grade 1 Beldame and Grade 2 Gallant Bloom by Catch my Drift and Wavell Avenue respectively, the Grade 3 Pilgrim brought another third from Ray's The Bar and an eighth-place finish by Eidmilaad.
The day's feature Grade 1, $600,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic was capped with a Brown stable exacta when Ken and Sarah Ramsey's homebred Big Blue Kitten set a course record taking top honors, followed by Slumber in second. Pacesetting stablemate Shining Copper placed fifth.
Pleased with the record setting effort put on by the 7-year-old Big Blue Kitten, Brown lauded his effort in addition to delineating potential plans for the rest of his runners.
"So far everybody's come out of their races in good shape," said Brown. "It's nice to have the course record on Big Blue Kitten's resume. The horse deserves it. He came in as a 2-year-old for us and he's a horse that's been very consistent, reliable, and hard knocking."
With an all fees-paid trip to the Breeders' Cup Turf earned for yesterday's victory, Brown will keep the horse in training at Belmont leading into the Breeders' Cup and will discuss upcoming plans to run in the race with the connections of Slumber and Shining Copper.
The day's feature Grade 1, $600,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic was capped with a Brown stable exacta when Ken and Sarah Ramsey's homebred Big Blue Kitten set a course record taking top honors, followed by Slumber in second. Pacesetting stablemate Shining Copper placed fifth.
Pleased with the record setting effort put on by the 7-year-old Big Blue Kitten, Brown lauded his effort in addition to delineating potential plans for the rest of his runners.
"So far everybody's come out of their races in good shape," said Brown. "It's nice to have the course record on Big Blue Kitten's resume. The horse deserves it. He came in as a 2-year-old for us and he's a horse that's been very consistent, reliable, and hard knocking."
With an all fees-paid trip to the Breeders' Cup Turf earned for yesterday's victory, Brown will keep the horse in training at Belmont leading into the Breeders' Cup and will discuss upcoming plans to run in the race with the connections of Slumber and Shining Copper.
"I don't see any reason to move [Big Blue Kitten] early," said Brown. "He likes training in New York so we're just going to leave him here and if all goes well bring him to Keeneland the week of the Breeders' Cup. I'll need to speak with each of the ownership groups for Slumber and Shining Copper and see what they want to do as well."
Lastly, Brown spoke on the encouraging development of multiple graded stakes winner Lady Eli, who is in recovery from laminitis and currently stabled at Dell Ridge Farm in Kentucky.
"She's doing terrific right now," Brown said. "She's over at Dell Ridge Farm and she's been turned out a couple times a day and she's really enjoying that. All the members of her team are real happy with her progress. The plan is to give her a couple months in Kentucky and I plan on taking her back into my care maybe the end of November, beginning of December, down to Palm Meadows and start her back in light training."
Source: NYRA Communications
Source: NYRA Communications
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