Anderson Stables' Lady Kate, the 2020 RUNHAPPY Group Doll winner, is the only return winner from last year's five dirt stakes on the RUNHAPPY Ellis Park Derby Day card at Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky. Then again, she's the only who could, with the other four stakes limited to either 2-year-olds or 3-year-olds.
Lady Kate also is seeking to become the first two-time winner of the stakes, which dates to 1987. Even Groupie Doll, the two-time Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint and champion female sprinter, only won the stakes now named for her once, that coming in 2011 as a 3-year-old. Groupie Doll also was third in 2013 en route to her second championship.
The 5-year-old Lady Kate, with Adam Beschizza to ride, goes up against familiar faces in last year's Groupie Doll runner-up New Roo and third-place Istan Council.
“She's doing well,” trainer Eddie Kenneally said of Lady Kate, who recently shipped over from his Keeneland barn. “She seems to like it here, and she was successful in the race last year and got it done first time running on this track. She's been here a few days and settled in nicely. She's been doing her breezes at Keeneland. It's a loaded race, quite a few runners in there. But I think it was a good big field here last year as well.”
After the Groupie Doll, Lady Kate finished second to champion Monomoy Girl in Churchill Downs' delayed Grade 1 La Troienne. She tired to 10th after pushing the pace in the Breeders' Cup Distaff, then in her only start this year was fifth in Aqueduct's Grade 3 Distaff Handicap in April.
“She seems to like Ellis and Churchill,” Kenneally said. “So hopefully we can repeat something like we did last year with her. But she's in great shape. She didn't have a prep for the race this year. She hasn't run since the first week of April. So she's coming in fresh with no prep. That's the only concern: She doesn't have a race under her belt coming in against horses that are fit and racing.”
That Grade 1-placing was huge for Lady Kate, a daughter of champion Bernardini who cost $485,000 as a yearling.
“For a filly with a pedigree like her it enhances her value tremendously to be placed at all in a G1,” Kenneally said. “It stamps her value going forward. So it means a lot for those kinds of fillies. She was a high-dollar yearling and thankfully it's turned out.
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