Turf Sprint Win Machine Ben's Cat Scores Again
Winning his 16th stakes and 21st race overall, The Jim Stable’s Ben’s Cat charged by the front runners and won the $100,000 Jim McKay Turf Sprint. The King Leatherbury trainee also had captured the Jim McKay in 2011.
The 7-year-old son of Parker’s Storm Cat, who was bred by owner-trainer Leatherbury, completed the five furlong distance over the firm turf in 56.18 seconds and paid $4.20. Front runner Spring to the Sky held on to finish second, while co-favorite Bridgetown was third and longshot Super Chunky finished fourth.
Julian Pimentel was in the irons aboard the popular Ben’s Cat, who has been thrilling central Maryland racing fans since he left the maiden ranks in his first start at the age of four after recovering from a broken pelvis. The victory upped his career earnings to $1,132,860.
Jim McKay Turf Sprint Quotes
King Leatherbury (trainer, Ben’s Cat, winner) – “It looks like he’s as good as ever as a 7-year-old. He’s not that well bred, I just hit a home run when everything fell into place with this horse. He’s super and has stayed totally healthy. He’s probably one of the best dirt-grass horses in the country. He’ll run in the Governor’s Cup at Penn National on June 1.”
Julian Pimentel (jockey, Ben’s Cat, winner) – “My horse ran a great race. He did everything right for me. He ran strong and had plenty left for the finish.”
Bruce Brown (trainer, Spring to the Sky, 2nd)
– “Bridgetown never left us alone the whole race and really pressured
us, and he still finished ahead of him, which is impressive. The race
just set up nice for the winner, and I’m not at all disappointed with my
horse. This is Ben’s Cat’s backyard. This is my horse’s first race this
year. We’ll build off this and there are better days to come.”
Javier Castellano (jockey, Spring to the Sky, 2nd) – “My horse broke well and the race set up perfectly for us. We didn’t have any traffic problems. Unfortunately we were just second best today.”