|
|
Ben's Cat 50-50 to be among Turf Sprint pre-entries On Labor Day, Laurel Park-based Ben's Cat captured the Grade 3 Turf Monster Handicap at Parx Racing, which earned the King Leatherbury homebred an automatic berth in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Churchill Downs on November 5 as part of the Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" series. But the five-year-old is not Breeders' Cup nominated so Leatherbury has looking for an investor to flip the bill on the $100,000 supplemental fee, which is due by 12 p.m. (EDT) Monday, the day pre-entries close. "We are working on it," Leatherbury said Friday afternoon. "I almost gave up on it yesterday but then we received a shot in the arm this morning. It is just a matter of getting everybody to put their money where their mouth is. I'd say there is a 50-50 chance this is going to happen, up from about 10 percent yesterday." Bred, owned and trained by Leatherbury, Ben's Cat has won 13 of 18 starts, including eight stakes, with lifetime earnings of $733,230. The son of Parker's Storm Cat had to recover from a broken pelvis before he made his maiden debut at age four, and then began his career with eight consecutive victories. "He has been a tremendous surprise," Leatherbury added. "I ran him for $20,000 in his first start but he kept winning and worked his way up the ladder. It would be a tremendous feel good story if we tried to shoot for the big money." Ben's Cat has won four of five on the turf this year: the Jim McKay Turf Sprint at Pimlico on Preakness weekend; the Pennsylvania Governor's Cup at Penn National; the Turf Monster, where he defeated among others defending Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint winner Chamberlain Bridge; and a repeat score in the Maryland Million Turf Sprint at Laurel on October 1. If he decides against running in the Breeders' Cup, Leatherbury will run his star in the six-furlong $75,000 Laurel Dash on October 29. "I would probably be 3-5 in that one," Leatherbury said. "One concern I have about the Breeders' Cup is the distance, which is five furlongs. His running style would handicap us. The other dilemma is that we would need to run 1-2 at the Breeders' Cup to make any money." Leatherbury has 6,330 career victories to stand third lifetime among all trainers behind Dale Baird and Jack Van Berg. He had four consecutive 300-win campaigns in the mid 1970s and was the nation's leading conditioner in 1977 and 1978.
 Send this article to a friend
|
|
