Month: July 2022

Top Sire Kitten’s Joy Dead at 21

Kitten's Joy (El Prado {Ire}–Kitten's First, by Lear Fan), twice the leading general sire in the United States and a perennial top-five turf sire, passed away from an apparent heart attack July 15 in his paddock at Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa, where he'd served mares since 2018. He entered stud in 2006 at his owners' Ken and Sarah Ramsey's Ramsey Farm.

The blaze-faced chestnut was nearly sold, but was ultimately retained by the Ramseys after bidding stalled out at $95,000 at the 2003 OBS April Sale, and it proved a fortuitous decision, as Kitten's Joy–named in honor of the late Sarah Ramsey–won nine times and was never worse than second in 12 starts on the grass for trainer Dale Romans, including victories in the 2004 GI Secretariat S. and GI Turf Classic ahead of a runner-up effort in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf. Named that year's Eclipse-winning turf male, Kitten's Joy also annexed the 2005 GII Firecracker Breeders' Cup H.–his only win over a mile–first off a nine-month hiatus and closed his career with an unlucky runner-up effort behind Powerscourt (GB) (Sadler's Wells) in the GI Arlington Million. He retired with a record of 9-4-0 from 14 trips to the races and earnings of $2,075,791.

An Instant Hit…

Despite his penchant for the grass and a skeptical breeding public despite a live female family, Kitten's Joy was well-supported early days–including a large number of mares Ramsey sourced via the claiming box–and he sired better than 300 foals from his first three North American crops.

“I claimed everything I could lay my hands on,” Ken Ramsey told Andy Beyer in a Washington Post article in 2013.

At the end of his first season covering mares, Dreaming of Anna (Rahy), a daughter of Kitten's Joy's multiple stakes-winning and Grade III-placed half-sister Justenuffheart (Broad Brush), was sewing up an Eclipse of her own in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. Along with Justenuffheart's MGSW sons Lewis Michael (Rahy) and Justenuffhumor (Distorted Humor), Kitten's Joy's half-sister Precious Kitten (Catienus) was in the process of building a multiple Grade I resume of her own and would go on to become the dam of GSW and Classic-placed Divining Rod (Tapit).

Before long, 'Kitten'-named horses carrying the Ramseys' trademark red-and-white colors with the capital R, were getting their pictures taken left and right, to the tune of 78% winners to starters from those first three crops.

Ramsey turned his offspring over to the likes of Chad Brown, Romans and Mike Maker, who trained Kitten's Joy's first winner at the graded level when Dean's Kitten–a son of the former $5,000 claimer Summer Theatre–took out the 2010 GII Lane's End S. over the Turfway Poly. The latter was one of six black-type winners from the first crop of Kitten's Joy, while his next crop yielded 11 SWs and 5 GSW, including GII Del Mar Derby hero Banned.

Stephanie's Kitten, a maternal granddaughter of the Ramseys' outstanding turf distaffer Bail Out Becky (Red Ransom) and out of a mare by $50,000 Ramsey claim Catienus, was another to showcase the budding versatility of Kitten's Joy, as the homebred won the GI Darley Alcibiades S. over the Keeneland all-weather and followed up in the GII Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. Stephanie's Kitten was one of 15 Kitten's Joy stakes winners in 2011, five at the graded level, and helped her sire achieve his first top 10 finish on the general sires' list while finishing the year as leading third-crop stallion and leading sire of 2-year-olds.

Making A Stallion, At Home and Abroad…

The first 16 and fully 54 of the first 68 stakes winners sired by Kitten's Joy were each bred by the Ramseys. Overall, Kitten's Joy has been represented by 111 black-type winners, 53 at the graded/group level and 15 top-level scorers. The stallion celebrated a banner day Aug, 17, 2013, when three horses struck in Grade I events–Big Blue Kitten in the GI Sword Dancer Invitational S. at Saratoga and Real Solution (Arlington Million) and Admiral Kitten (Secretariat S.) at Arlington. With champion Big Blue Kitten, one of 25 black-type winners that season, leading the way, Kitten's Joy topped the general sire list for the first time.

The sire's offspring continued to excel at the highest level in the U.S., with Divisidero winning the GI Turf Classic on two occasions, Sadler's Joy scoring in the Sword Dancer and Bobby's Kitten, Oscar Performance and Stephanie's Kitten posting wins in various Breeders' Cup events.

By now, Kitten's Joy's tremendous domestic success–he was the leading turf sire each year from 2013 through 2018–had gotten the attention of the international racing community, and his sons, in particular, began to leave their mark on foreign soil. Hawkbill, a $350,000 purchase by Godolphin out of the 2014 Keeneland September sale, defeated his elders in the G1 Coral-Eclipse S. in 2016 and would go on to add the G1 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic in 2018, exploits which landed Kitten's Joy a second trip to the top of the sires' premiership, no easy feat for a turf horse. Hawkbill now stands at Darley's satellite operation in Japan.

Qatar Racing's late Roaring Lion, a $160,000 KEESEP acquisition, won the G2 Royal Lodge S. and was second in the G1 Racing Post Trophy at two in 2017 before winning the Eclipse, G1 Juddmonte International S., G1 Irish Champion S. and G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. He was also beaten two lengths into third in the 2018 G1 Investec Derby.

Kameko also carried the Qatar Racing colors to win the G1 Vertem Futurity Trophy in 2019 and the 2020 G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas at Newmarket. Kitten's Joy has also been represented by MGSW/G1SP Gendarme and GSW Dashing Blaze in Japan.

While clearly a better sire of turf runners, Kitten's Joy was represented as recently as 2021 by GI TVG Pacific Classic hero Tripoli and is also responsible for treble dirt Grade III winner Csaba.

In October 2017, Ramsey announced that John Sikura's Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa had acquired a 50% stake in Kitten's Joy after intimating that he might sell the stallion to European interests.

“The road to success is always under construction,” Ramsey told TDN's Bill Finley in 2017. “In this case, there were some detours. In the end, I feel like we made the right decision for all concerned. We were offered more money by at least one other farm. But the horse came first and everyone in the Ramsey family agreed that Hill 'n' Dale was the best fit for him.”

Kitten's Joy stood his first year at Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa at $60,000 and received a bump to $75,000 for 2019. His first crop of Hill 'n' Dale-conceived foals proved popular at auction in 2020, with a son of Joyful Victory (Tapit) fetching ¥105 million ($982,000) at the JRHA Select Sales in Japan and a daughter of Joya Real (Eddington) bringing $800,000 at KEESEP. He stood the 2022 breeding season at a fee of $50,000.

Kitten's Joy currently sits second among leading turf sires. His current flag-bearer is 'TDN Rising Star' New Year's Eve, winner of the GIII Edgewood S. in May. He is the broodmare sire of 28 stakes winners, 11 at the graded/group level, including Grade I winners Channel Cat (English Channel), Fire At Will (Declaration of War) and the recently sold First Constitution (Chi) (Constitution).

When asked by Beyer what has made Kitten's Joy so reliable a stallion, Brown told Beyer in the previously referenced Post article, “To be a top racehorse, you have to be physically gifted, but it also takes an incredible mental constitution. You have to be focused to train every day. One after another, the Kitten's Joys carry that trait. They're tough-minded horses. They never get sour. They can't wait to train, and they drag their riders to get to the track.”

“It was an honor and a privilege to have been entrusted to advance the career of what I believe to be one of the most important international turf sires of this century,” said Sikura. “This stallion is a tribute to one the modern era's most creative minds, namely Ken Ramsey. This horse was a part of our family but perhaps even more so to the Ramsey family. This is a great loss to the industry and to the Ramseys.”

“It is devastating to lose both my wife and her favorite horse in such a short period of time,” Ken Ramsey said. “My wife said 'this horse will bring us a lot of joy' and he certainly did. John Sikura was as good a partner as anyone could ever hope for. Kitten's Joy was the horse of a lifetime. His name will be in pedigrees for generations to come.”

 

The post Top Sire Kitten’s Joy Dead at 21 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Remington Park Releases 2022 Thoroughbred Stakes Schedule, Led By Oklahoma Derby, Springboard Mile

The 2022 Thoroughbred Season at Remington Park features a stakes schedule that is once again led by the Grade 3 $400,000 Oklahoma Derby and the $400,000 Springboard Mile. The season will begin on Friday, Aug. 19.

The Oklahoma Derby will headline a robust program of eight stakes races on Sunday, Sept. 25. Also included on the loaded card is the G3, $200,000 Remington Park Oaks for 3-year-old fillies at 1-1/16 miles. The Derby and the Oaks are the only graded stakes races on the Remington Park schedule.

The top 2-year-old race of the season, the Springboard Mile, is the main event as the season concludes on Saturday, Dec. 17. The $100,000 Trapeze Stakes, for 2-year-old fillies, also at a mile, shares the final program that includes six stakes races.

The stakes schedule has 34 races with total purses at more than $3.5 million. The first stakes race takes place on the season's opening night when the $175,000 Governor's Cup for 3-year-olds-and-up going 1-1/8 miles, is the main event.

The schedule also includes the annual Oklahoma Classics Night on Friday, Oct. 21, featuring races in divisional categories for the top Oklahoma-bred horses. Purses for Remington Park's top night of state-bred racing will total more than $1 million.

Oklahoma Classics Night will feature the following races for Oklahoma-breds:

  • $175,000 Oklahoma Classics Cup, 3-year-olds-and-up, 1-1/16 miles (OK)
  • $145,000 Oklahoma Classics Distaff, 3-year-olds-and-up, fillies & mares, 1 mile-70 yards (OK)
  • $130,000 Oklahoma Classics Sprint, 3-year-olds-and-up, 6 furlongs (OK)
  • $130,000 Oklahoma Classics Distaff Sprint, 3-year-olds-and-up, fillies & mares, 6 furlongs (OK)
  • $130,000 Oklahoma Classics Turf, 3-year-olds-and-up, 1-1/16 miles, turf (OK)
  • $130,000 Oklahoma Classics Distaff Turf, 3-year-olds-and-up, fillies & mares, 1-1/16 miles, turf (OK)
  • $100,000 Oklahoma Classics Juvenile, 2-year-olds, colts & geldings, 6 furlongs (OK)
  • $100,000 Oklahoma Classics Lassie, 2-year-olds, fillies, 6 furlongs (OK)
  • $40,000 Oklahoma Classics Starter Stakes, 3-year-olds-and-up, 7 furlongs (OK)
  • $40,000 Oklahoma Classics Filly & Mare Starter Stakes, 3-year-olds-and-up, fillies & mares, 7 furlongs (OK)

Throughout the season, 18 stakes races are worth $100,000 or more. There are seven stakes races to be contested over the turf course. Oklahoma-breds will be featured in 18 stakes races. The remainder of the stakes schedule includes:

  • Friday, Sept. 9 – $50,000 Oklahoma Stallion Stakes, 3-year-olds, colts & geldings, 7 furlongs
  • Friday, Sept. 9 – $50,000 Oklahoma Stallion Stakes, 3-year-olds, fillies, 7 furlongs
  • Friday, Sept. 23 – $70,000 Red Earth Stakes, 3-year-olds-and-up, 7-1/2 furlongs, turf (OK)
  • Friday, Sept. 23 – $70,000 Bob Barry Memorial, 3-year-olds-and-up, fillies & mares, 7-1/2 furlongs, turf (OK)
  • Friday, Sept. 23 – $70,000 Remington Park Turf Sprint, 3-year-olds-and-up, 5 furlongs, turf (OK)
  • Sunday, Sept. 25 – $150,000 David M. Vance Stakes, 3-year-olds-and-up, 6 furlongs
  • Sunday, Sept. 25 – $100,000 Remington Green Stakes, 3-year-olds-and-up, 1-1/8 miles, turf
  • Sunday, Sept. 25 – $75,000 Kip Deville Stakes, 2-year-olds, 6 furlongs
  • Sunday, Sept. 25 – $75,000 Ricks Memorial, 3-year-olds-and-up, fillies & mares, 1-1/16 miles, turf
  • Sunday, Sept. 25 – $50,000 Flashy Lady Stakes, 3-year-olds-and-up, fillies & mares, 6 furlongs
  • Sunday, Sept. 25 – $50,000 E.L. Gaylord Memorial, 2-year-olds, fillies, 6-1/2 furlongs
  • Friday, Oct. 28 – $100,000 Clever Trevor Stakes, 2-year-olds, 7 furlongs
  • Friday, Nov. 11 – $75,000 Don McNeill Stakes, 2-year-olds, 1 mile (OK)
  • Friday, Nov. 11 – $75,000 Slide Show Stakes, 2-year-olds, fillies, 1 mile (OK)
  • Friday, Nov. 11 – $70,000 Silver Goblin Stakes, 3-year-olds-and-up, 6-1/2 furlongs (OK)
  • Saturday, Dec. 17 – $100,000 She's All In Stakes, 3-year-olds-and-up, fillies & mares, 1 mile-70 yards
  • Saturday, Dec. 17 – $100,000 Jeffrey Hawk Memorial, 3-year-olds-and-up, 1 mile-70 yards
  • Saturday, Dec. 17 – $70,000 Jim Thorpe Stakes, 3-year-olds, 1 mile (OK)
  • Saturday, Dec. 17 – $70,000 Useeit Stakes, 3-year-olds, fillies, 1 mile (OK)

(OK) denotes Oklahoma-breds

The Remington Park Thoroughbred Season runs for 67 dates, Aug. 19 to Dec. 17.

The post Remington Park Releases 2022 Thoroughbred Stakes Schedule, Led By Oklahoma Derby, Springboard Mile appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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‘We Know we are Succeeding Because John [O’Connor] is Laughing at us Less’

They have reached dizzy heights as breeders and now Gillian and Vimal Khosla are concentrating on achieving big-race success as owners with Fennela (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), a daughter of their outstanding broodmare Green Room (Theatrical {Ire}), in Saturday's G1 Juddmonte Irish Oaks.

The Khoslas know a thing or two about breeding top-notchers. Green Room is the dam of three Group 1 or Classic winners and the owner-breeders behind the 20-year-old blue hen are hoping there is still more to come. 

Lord Shanakill (Speightstown) was the first horse to put Green Room in lights. A high-class 2-year-old, he then went on to win the G1 Prix Jean Prat at Chantilly in 2009 before retiring to stud the following season. 

Then came Together Forever (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who fetched €680,000 at the Goffs Orby Sale in 2013 before going on to land the G1 Fillies' Mile at Newmarket for Aidan O'Brien and Coolmore Stud. 

The Green Room secret was well and truly out by the time MV Magnier was forced to spend €900,000 on Together Forever's younger sister, Forever Together, at the Goffs Orby Sale in 2016. 

But it proved money well spent when, ridden by Donnacha O'Brien, Forever Together romped to Oaks glory at Epsom, again trained by Aidan O'Brien. 

Put mildly, Green Room has an outstanding track record of producing top-class racehorses and in Fennela, the only filly the Khoslas have kept out of their superstar broodmare, they are hoping that pedigree can shine through again at the Curragh on Saturday.

“The form says no but, as an owner and breeder, you couldn't do it without having hope and optimism, so we're optimistic about Saturday,” said Vimal with a heavy dollop of realism at Leopardstown on Thursday.

The Khoslas were back at Leopardstown for the first time in over two years on Thursday. It was an important visit, too, as they once again sponsored the G3 Green Room Meld S., and handed over the trophy to Jim and Jackie Bolger after Boundless Ocean (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) ran out an impressive winner.

The husband-and-wife owner-breeders will be hoping that the roles will be reversed on Saturday and that they will be collecting a trophy after the Irish Oaks but are by no means underestimating the task at hand. 

“We think she might want a mile-and-six-furlongs in time and she's only three so she may even do better next year. It's exciting to be a part of such a brilliant race and we're hopeful of a good run. Every position she finishes better than last will be a bonus.”

Asked to compare how the build-up to a Classic compares as an owner to a breeder, he added, “They're two totally different animals. I have never won a Group 1 and I would love to win one as an owner. I would feel like I have arrived if we managed to win the Oaks.”

The Khoslas made their fortune in the travel business and, with Green Room, they have been on the journey of a lifetime. 

On their star mare, Gillian said, “Green Room has a colt foal by Waldgeist (GB). It's obviously his first crop so that will be exciting. She's extremely well-looked after by everyone down in Ballylinch Stud–there were pictures taken of her recently and she still looks amazing at the age of 20. She had a couple of years off so the Waldgeist colt is all she has coming through.”

Asked why they chose to set up their breeding and racing enterprise in Ireland, she responded, “It's part of the culture over here. It's very professional but it's also very warm and comforting and people are happy to share. We've learned so much, particularly in Ireland.”

The Khoslas are learning from the best. Their seven-strong broodmare band is based at Ballylinch Stud, of which, John O'Connor has been a massive help to the couple, while Jessica Harrington has produced the goods on the track. 

“It has all happened by accident,” Vimal explains. “I bought a filly called Polly Perkins (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) back in 2004. She had won two listed races when I bought her and was shaping up to be something special but she damaged a stifle during the winter and couldn't race again. 

“I hadn't a clue about racing at the time, had only been involved in the sport a few years but someone recommended that we breed from her. She did well as a broodmare and we actually kept one of her fillies and had our first foal from her this year.”

The Khoslas describe Ballylinch Stud, based in the picturesque countryside of County Kilkenny, as an idyllic place for their broodmares to be based and O'Connor's expertise and knowledge about breeding comes in for special recognition from Gillian.

She said, “Particularly the expertise of John O'Connor and all the team at Ballylinch, the knowledge they have about breeding, and they are so good at sharing it.”

Vimal is in agreement, and adds, “John is a wonderful teacher. Of course, we take for granted that he is a wonderful horseman with tremendous knowledge but he is very generous with his knowledge and is a wonderful teacher. We wanted to learn the business and he has taught us and continues to teach us to this day. That's the main thing.”

There are plenty of wealthy businessmen and women who get involved in racing purely for the entertainment factor that goes with a good day out at the races. Not the Khoslas. They have adopted a hands-on approach to their operation and it's working.

Vimal joked, “We know we are succeeding because John is laughing at us less and less. I used to send all the mating plans to John and he'd fall around the place laughing. He would do it very kindly I must say,” to which Gillian admitted, “We still go a big rogue sometimes.”

Asked to explain, Vimal said, “We bought a Sea The Stars (Ire) mare called Compostela (GB) a few years ago. She never raced, but is a tank of a filly, and so far she has bred a Group 3 winner [Stela Star (Ire) (Epaulette {Aus})] and her other two foals of racing age have won as well. She's on the up.

“We like being quirky with sense. We're not into mini-skirts or fashion and don't pick a stallion because he's in fashion. We chose a stallion and a mare if we think we can breed something decent.

“In the early days, we went for first-season sires and made a lot of mistakes. Shamardal worked for a lot of people. He didn't work for us. The same with Duke Of Marmalade (Ire). He worked for a lot of people and was a tremendous racehorse but he just didn't work for us. 

“We went for them because the fees were relatively low, but also because they were tremendous racehorses on the track. But, you learn.”

The Khoslas have learned alright. Now it's over to Fennela to teach her rivals a thing or two on Saturday and continue the trend of Green Room's progeny hitting the heights on the racecourse. 

The post ‘We Know we are Succeeding Because John [O’Connor] is Laughing at us Less’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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