Any stallion requires a series of fortunate – and downright lucky – bounces to become a major player, but the ones that led Kitten's Joy to the top of the North American sire list were the kind that could have derailed his entire stud career as we know it.
In a piece for Thoroughbred Owner Breeder, Nancy Sexton detailed some of those crucial decisions, some of which spanned back to before the stallion was born.
The first of those crossroads came during the racing career of his dam, Kitten's First, whom owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey purchased as a yearling. She raced just twice, having broken her hip in the Junior Champion Stakes at Monmouth Park as a 2-year-old. Ramsey told Sexton that the veterinarian wanted to euthanize the filly once she got back to the barn, but Tom Albertrani, then an assistant to Kitten's First's trainer Bill Mott, was able to get her to stand, and she cooperated with recovery efforts from there, eventually joining Ramsey's broodmare band.
The next turning point came prior to Kitten's Joy's retirement, when the Ramseys were being heavily courted by Japanese buyers to sell turf champion Kitten's Joy and Dubai World Cup winner Roses in May. Ken Ramsey wanted to sell just one of the two, ultimately deciding on Roses in May and altering the North American stud book for decades to come.
One more potential off-ramp came recently when Ken Ramsey became dissatisfied with the stallion's commercial reception by North American buyers and shopped him out to stand at European farms. Ramsey said a deal was made to send Kitten's Joy to stand in England, but a last-minute intervention from his family led him to keep the stallion stateside.
Kitten's Joy moved from Ramsey Farm to Hill 'n' Dale Farms in 2018, and he stood the most recent breeding season for $75,000.
Read more at Thoroughbred Owner Breeder.
The post Road To The Top For Kitten’s Joy Could Have Had Several Off-Ramps appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
