Stephanie's Kitten Needs Racing Luck in Beverly D

When Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey’s beloved homebred Breeders’ Cup champion Stephanie’s Kitten starts on Aug. 15 at Arlington International Racecourse in the Grade I $700,000 Beverly D., the mare who helped put Ramsey Farm’s flagship stallion Kitten’s Joy on the map will likely be seeing the Chicagoland oval for the final time. After starting her career at Arlington in the summer of 2011, the future multiple Grade I winner would go on to win the Grade II $1,000,000 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf that fall while under the tutelage of Wayne Catalano.

Now under the care of conditioner Chad Brown, the bay filly with the signature blaze down her face and kind disposition returns for one final curtain call in the signature summer race for turf fillies and mares. A victory in the Beverly D. would be part of a two-part act of retribution for the late-running and consequently often unlucky bay mare. In both the Bevelry D. and the Grade I $2,000,000 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf in 2014, Stephanie’s Kitten was unlucky and arguably the best horse in each race.

In the Beverly D., Stephanie’s Kitten was stuck behind a phalanx of fillies while trying to unleash her closing rally in the stretch. Never quite breaking free, she still managed to close quickest of all to finish second to Team Valor International’s Euro Charline. Two starts later – with a flashy stalk-and-pounce victory in the Grade I $600,000 Flower Bowl Invitational sandwiched between – she was prey to the glacial fractions set by ultimate victress Datatthespa in the Breeders’ Cup, but still closed resolutely from eighth of 11 to finish second by 1¼ lengths.

Owner Ken Ramsey has made it known that his plan for Stephanie’s Kitten is vengeance through victory in each race before retiring the popular mare and selling her at auction, much to his family’s chagrin.

“My family didn’t want me to sell her last year, which is why we put such a high reserve ($4 million) on her,” Ramsey said. “She’s named after my granddaughter Stephanie and she’s very important to the family. But, she will be sold at Fasig-Tipton this year and what we get for her is what we get for her.

“I am in the business of racing horses and winning races, despite having a stallion like Kitten’s Joy, who is a franchise,” Ramsey continued. “I don’t like to retire any horse prematurely, which is why we have horses like Big Blue Kitten, Hyper, Bobby’s Kitten and International Star come back after time off.”

Ramsey is eager to see his top turf mare perform after what he believes was a deceptively good performance, albeit disappointing result, just three weeks ago in the Grade I $500,000 Diana Stakes at Saratoga.

“She’s on schedule we’ll bring her by herself (without a rabbit),” Ramsey said. “The last time she ran it was like two separate races. She was about 17 lengths back at the top of the stretch and made up about 15 lengths to lose by two lengths at the wire. I don’t know why (jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr.) had her so far back.

“She’s doing very well right now and we’re expecting a big race,” Ramsey continued. “We will have her closer to the pace this time, that’s for sure, and Irad will have the ride. I’m hoping it sets up better for her, because she definitely will be better this time. She’s been a bad luck filly and four or five races in her career she could have won because of that. If we would have had a rabbit in the Breeders’ Cup, we would have won the race. We ran a bigger ‘rag number’ than the winner and the winner just galloped around there and she couldn’t catch her.”

Better luck and a better trip in the Beverly D. could put an exclamation point on a career that has seen the Arlington fan favorite race over its famed oval three times, resulting in a debut third, a maiden-breaking victory next out and the aforementioned Beverly D. runner-up finish. In 22 career starts, the filly who has become the standard for Grade I turf fillies in America has nine victories, including three at the Grade I level. A victory in the Beverly D. would hoist her earnings to more than $3,000,000.

WEDDING VOW LIKELY TO REPRESENT COOLMORE IN BEVERLY D.

Trainer Aidan O’Brien, who had three fillies under consideration for the Grade I $700,000 Beverly D., will now reportedly bring just one in the form of Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith and Mrs. John Magnier’s Wedding Vow. By Galileo out of a three-quarter sister to European Horse of the Year Dylan Thomas, the 3-year-old filly will look to be come only the second sophomore in history to take the Beverly D. – following Team Valor International’s Euro Charline in 2014.

In seven career starts, the consistent bay charge has hit the board in five events, including a second-place finish last out in the Group I $937,000 Nassau Stakes at Goodwood on Aug. 1 against older mares. One race prior to that effort, she was a winner in the Group II Kilboy Estate Stakes at The Curragh – the same race James Wigan’s Dank won en route to her Beverly D. victory in 2013.

Colm O’Donaghue is slated to ride the Irish-bred in what will be her third start in four weeks.

DIVISIDERO, MONEY MULTIPLIER OUT OF SECRETARIAT

Gunpowder Farms’ Divisidero, who was expected to vie for favoritism in the Grade I $450,000 Secretariat Stakes at Arlington International Racecourse on Aug. 15, has been removed from consideration by trainer Buff Bradley after an unsatisfactory week. The son of Kitten’s Joy has won two stakes this year and was exiting a late-charging seventh in the Grade I $1,250,000 Belmont Derby Invitational as the 5-2 second choice.

Also now unlikely to make the trip to Chicago for the Secretariat is Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence’s Chad Brown traineeMoney Multiplier. A rapidly improving type, the son of Lookin At Lucky was second last out in the Grade III $200,000 Kent Stakes at Delaware Park.

Source: Arlington Park