Breeders’ Cup Photo ©
Bobby’s Kitten and Camelot Kitten, both of which are trained by Chad Brown and owned by Ken and Sarah Ramsey, have settled in at Keeneland and are gearing up for runs in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (gr. I) and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (gr. I) on October 30-31st at Keeneland.
Both colts were sired by the Ramsey’s top stallion Kitten’s Joy and were produced by the Forestry mare Celestial Woods, making them full brothers. Bobby’s Kitten, the elder of the two at four years of age, finished third in the 2013 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (gr. I) before scoring an upset win in the 2014 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (gr. I), a race he will attempt to win again this year. Celestial Kitten, a lightly-raced two-year-old, won his debut at Belmont Park last month before rallying to finish second in the Dixiana Bourbon Stakes (gr. II) at Keeneland. He will seek to emulate his older brother as a Breeders’ Cup winner when he starts in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.
In the history of the Breeders’ Cup, only three mares have produced more than one Breeders’ Cup champion. The members of this exclusive club are Hasili, dam of 2001 Filly & Mare Turf winner Banks Hill and 2005 Filly & Mare Turf winner Intercontinental; Primal Force, dam of 1998 Classic winner Awesome Again and 2000 Juvenile winner Macho Uno; and Sweet Life, dam of 2004 Juvenile Fillies winner Sweet Catomine and 2009 Distaff winner Life Is Sweet. Should Camelot Kitten win the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, Celestial Wood will become the fourth member of this group.
Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., who rode Camelot Kitten in the Bourbon Stakes, believes the colt will show improvement in the future. In Keeneland’s official post-race quotes from the Bourbon Stakes, Ortiz noted that “My horse didn’t break that sharp, so I was way back. I dropped in (on the rail) to save some ground. I was last, so I had to save ground and save my horse for the end. Turning for home, we got clear and he took off. He’s got a good kick. We’ll see him improve. He’s got two races now, so I think he’s gonna improve a lot from this one.”
