Ken and Sarah Ramsey | Horse Racing Free Tips

Artie’s Princess Holds Off Boardroom For Bessarabian Success

Artie's Princess, a 3-year-old daughter of We Miss Artie, won her second straight stakes at Woodbine, and notched her first graded crown, in taking the $197,750 Bessarabian (Grade 2) at the Toronto, Ontario, oval on Saturday.

The trio of Jakarta, Souper Escape and Artie's Princess zipped out of the gate in the seven-furlong Bessarabian, matching strides through an opening-quarter mile in a swift :22.31. It was Jakarta who eventually assumed command with her other two rivals tracking her every move. Artie's Princess, who came into the race off a sharp score in the Ruling Angel Stakes on September 12, sat in third for Kazushi Kimura.

Jakarta continued to call the shots on the front end, taking her rivals through a half-mile clip in :44.41, as Princess Artie kept the pacesetter well within her sights.

As the field turned for home, Artie's Princess surged to the lead, holding a two-length advantage at Robert Geller's stretch call. Looking like a lock mid-way down the lane, the Wesley Ward trainee had to fend off a late-race meeting with hard-charging Boardroom, who fell a head short of collaring the winner. Our Secret Agent rallied to net third, while Amalfi Coast, last year's Bessarabian champ, finished fourth.

“Basically, if I could go to the front I wanted to go to the front, but I knew that just the two horses wanted to go to the front, and it looked a little bit fast that's why I was just patient, watched from behind,” said Kimura, who earlier in the card teamed with Field Pass to take the Grade 3 Ontario Derby Stakes. “She was just so comfortable today.”

The final time was 1:20.90.

“I felt [jockey Luis Contreras and Boardroom coming] but she wasn't that tired and kept going,” offered Kimura. “I felt I could win.”

The ultra-consistent filly, bred and owned by Ken and Sarah Ramsey, now has three wins from four outings in 2020. Last year, the Ontario-bred went 2-1-0 from three starts, taking her first two races before a runner-up effort in the Frost King Stakes in November.

Her sire, We Miss Artie, also owned by Ken and Sarah Ramsey, won the 2014 Plate Trial at Woodbine before finishing third in the Queen's Plate.

Sent off as the 5-2 choice, Artie's Princess paid $7, $3.80 and $3.30. She combined with Boardroom ($5, $3.90) for a 4-2 $34.40 exactor. Our Secret Agent ($4.30) completed a 4-2-7 triactor worth $156.90. Amalfi Coast rounded a 4-2-7-5 $1 Superfecta that returned $277.35. Outburst was scratched.

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Road To The Top For Kitten’s Joy Could Have Had Several Off-Ramps

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.

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Churchill Downs Spring Meet Concludes on a High

All-sources wagering on Churchill Downs’ abbreviated 27-date Spring Meet totaled $240.5 million, which was a 53.3% increase from the 32 days of racing that followed last year’s Kentucky Derby. Additionally, the average daily handle was up 81.7% from $4.9 million one year ago to $8.9 million this season.

Shortened to seven weeks from May 16-June 28, the 2020 meet was staged under strict government-sanctioned protocols and without spectators because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This season, Churchill Downs experienced four of the track’s six largest non-Derby, Oaks or Breeders’ Cup betting days in track history, led by a record $19.3 million May 23 (Stephen Foster Preview Day). Other big days: $16.8 million was wagered May 30 (Winning Colors/Old Forester Mint Julep); $14.3 million May 16 (Opening Day); and $13.8 million June 27 (Stephen Foster Day).

A total of 2,536 horses made starts in the 268 races for a substantial average of 9.5 horses per race–up from 8.4 horses in 2019. Purses paid to horsemen totaled $15.6 million and averaged $576,000 per day compared to last year’s $601,000 daily average. The average purse per race was $58,000 compared to last season’s $63,000.

This season, Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen extended his Churchill Downs training title record to 23 with 17 wins, one better than Brad Cox (16), and he overtook south Louisville native Dale Romans as the track’s all-time leading trainer. Asmussen has won 747 career races at Churchill Downs, three more than Romans, who surpassed Bill Mott Nov. 12, 2017 after 31 years in the top spot. Mott, who has 728 career wins at Churchill Downs, became only the seventh trainer in history to record 5,000 career wins when Moon Over Miami won at the Louisville track June 20.

In the jockey’s standings, Tyler Gaffalione easily defeated 19-time local riding champion Corey Lanerie by capturing 31 wins through the meet, seven more than Lanerie who collected 24. In the owner’s race, owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey earned their record 33rd title as the leading owners at Churchill Downs. On May 24, Ramsey’s registered their 500th win beneath the Twin Spires, and finished the season with a total of 504 career Churchill Downs wins. Gayle Benson’s G M B Racing, who campaigns GII Stephen Foster S. winner Tom’s d’Etat (Smart Strike), was the meet’s leading money-earning owner with $368,532.
Racing returns to Churchill Downs in nine weeks for the rescheduled Kentucky Derby Week (Sept. 1-5). The 146th running of the Longines GI Kentucky Oaks and GI Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve will be held with spectators under strict guidelines Sept. 4 and Sept. 5, respectively.

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