No Woodward Stakes for Backyard Heaven, out until 2019

Before Ken and Sarah Ramsey were inducted into the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame this week Louisville, Ky., Ken relayed a message from his wife, Sarah, who told him "this is probably one of the highest honors we’ve ever had."

"Truthfully," Ken added, "I’m tickled to death to be here.”

Known for their dominance at Churchill Downs and owner titles across the Eastern half of the U.S., the Ramseys are far from done, and they hope Backyard Heaven still plays into the future.

A late developer in the Chad Brown stable, Backyard Heaven did not debut until fall of his 3-year-old season last year. Now 4, the Tizway colt topped a three-race win streak by winning the Grade 2 Alysheba, his stakes debut on Kentucky Derby weekend when he drew off to win by 4 ½ lengths. 

Backyard Heaven did not have the same success his next two starts. He went off as the favorite in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Handicap but despite an ideal trip finished sixth.

“I don’t know what happened to him,” Ramsey said. “We thought it was the weather. Humidity was really high. Temperature was 92 degrees that night.”

Putting the race behind them, Backyard Heaven moved on to the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes at Saratoga. The skies opened up minutes before post time and, due to lightning in the area, horses had to ride out a 45-minute delay in the paddock. When finally hitting the sloppy and sealed track, Backyard Heaven faded again and finished seventh.

“[Javier] Castellano, the jockey, came back and said, ‘Ken, he just didn’t handle the track at all,’” Ramsey said. “So Chad said we’ll run him back in the [Grade 1] Woodward Stakes on Sept. 1. The track will be dry.”

But plans to run at Saratoga changed the following morning when Backyard Heaven was not walking right in Brown’s stable. Brown sent the horse to Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky., for a full-body X-ray. While Ramsey is waiting for complete results, it’s suspected Backyard Heaven could have four bruised feet.

Backyard Heaven will miss the rest of the 2018 season, including the Breeders’ Cup held at Churchill Downs Nov. 2-3. He is now at the Ramseys' Kentucky farm and will likely rejoin the Brown stable in November when the horses move to Florida.

Taking the good with the bad, Ramsey also talked of his success with his stallion Kitten’s Joy. The same morning as the Ramseys’ induction into the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame, one of his progeny, Roaring Lion won the Group 1 Juddmonte International Stakes in England.

The Ramseys also have 2-year-olds developing and plan to send some to Brown and Wesley Ward in hopes of getting a Kentucky Derby contender next year. Ramsey talked up in particular Tripwire, a Canadian-bred working at Woodbine and targeting next year’s Queen’s Plate, which is the first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown.