Bobby's Kitten to Focus on Middle Distances

After Bobby's Kitten impressively won the $500,000 Penn Mile on May 31 with a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 95, trainer Chad Brown decided to try his 3-year-old speedster at 1 ¼ miles in the Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational on July 5 at Belmont Park.

Rating an uncharacteristic 5 ½ lengths back through a half-mile in 48.43 seconds, Bobby's Kitten moved to the leaders heading into the far turn but failed to respond in the drive.

With that, Brown decided to focus Bobby's Kitten on middle-distance turf races, and the colt appears set for the Grade 2, $200,000 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame on Friday at 1 1/16 miles.

"It was too far for him," Brown said of the Belmont Derby. "Once it was apparent the horse wasn't going to be effective at a mile and a quarter, [jockey] Javier [Castellano] took care of the horse and got him back. He's been training real well since, and I think this race fits him good."

At the start of his career, Bobby's Kitten was a headstrong front-runner, breaking his maiden in a powerful score at 1 1/6 miles last summer at Saratoga and then taking the Grade 3 Pilgrim in October at Belmont Park. He led the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf deep into the lane and finished third.

He wired the field in his 3-year-old debut at Tampa and then tried and failed in a move to the synthetic surface for the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland. With that, Brown began working Bobby's Kitten behind horses in an attempt to get him to rate, and the Ken and Sarah Ramsey homebred son of Kitten's Joy responded with his finest performance in the Penn Mile.

"We've breezed him behind horses; I think the horse has really improved a lot in that area, being able to rate a bit," Brown said. "He's been very cooperative in the morning. His last couple breezes have been with Javier. We worked him solo the last two works, and he did real well. I'm confident he can position this horse wherever he wants in this race.

"He's not just a flash-in-the-pan 2-year-old from last year. I think this horse is proven. I expect him to continue to develop and even get better as he gets older. Hopefully, he's a horse we have in the barn for a long time. That's a real factor in these mile turf races."