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Howe Great skates home in Kitten's Joy

Howe Great has now won three in a row on dirt and turf, making him an exciting sophomore prospect (Courtney Stafford/Adam Coglianese Photography) Team Valor International and trainer Graham Motion appeared to have a stranglehold on Saturday's $100,000 Kitten's Joy Stakes at Gulfstream Park. The primary question was which of their duo would prevail: the speedy Howe Great, making his stakes debut, or the late-running Lucky Chappy, already a proven graded stakes commodity? Howe Great answered in resounding fashion, defeating Lucky Chappy by 2 1/2 lengths and stamping himself as a three-year-old to follow. Bettors sided with even-money favorite Lucky Chappy, the third-place finisher in the Grade 3 Bourbon Stakes and fourth versus an international field in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf. Howe Great, successful in a Parx maiden on dirt and in a recent allowance over this course and distance, went off as the 9-2 third choice. Taking command early with new rider Edgar Prado, Howe Great carved out steady splits of :24 3/5, :48 and 1:11 on the firm turf. The tracking Cozzetti moved up to challenge on the far turn, in tandem with Empire Builder. But Howe Great was simply humoring them. He shrugged them off turning into the stretch and drew away in style, finishing 1 1/16 grassy miles in 1:40 2/5 and paying $11.40, $4.60 and $3.80.

"I talked to Edgar before the race and we agreed that if no one else wanted the lead, we'd be happy to take it, although I don't think he's one dimensional," Motion said. "I knew Lucky Chappy would be up against it as he always breaks a step slow."

"We saw the race just like everybody else did," Prado said. "There was no speed on paper. We went to the front, slowed it down, and the rest was history. He had plenty left."

Lucky Chappy, who was again content to drop back after a lackadaisical start, offered his typical rally without getting near enough to threaten. The runner-up bested Empire Builder by three-quarters of a length. Cozzetti faded to fourth, followed by Scorcher, Italo and El Romano. Argentine Tango was scratched.

Howe Great is the latest headliner from the first crop of hot young sire Hat Trick. A Japanese champion by Sunday Silence, Hat Trick has already made a splash by siring 2011 European champion two-year-old juvenile Dabirsim.

Howe Great's dam, the South African-bred mare Ginger Sea, is a daughter of the prominent stallion Western Winter.

Bred in Kentucky by Team Valor impresario Barry Irwin, Howe Great has now won three in a row since a runner-up effort in his debut. The dark bay graduated by 1 1/4 lengths in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden at Parx on October 31, and handled the stretch-out to two turns, and a switch to turf, in a second-level allowance on December 15 at Gulfstream. His scorecard reads 4-3-1-0, $121,500.

Motion indicated that all options are open for the top two from the Kitten's Joy, including a venture to Dubai for the Group 2 U.A.E. Derby on March 31.

"It's possible we'll consider one of them to go to Dubai," the trainer said.

If one should go, he would accompany his connections' newly-crowned champion and Kentucky Derby hero Animal Kingdom, who is aiming for the Group 1 Dubai World Cup on the same day.

Animal Kingdom famously used the turf and synthetic route to Derby glory, and one of his younger stablemates could still plot out a similar path.

"We'll also look at the Palm Beach here later in the meet (a Grade 3 on turf March 11)," Motion said. "We haven't ruled out anything for either of them at this point (including dirt)."

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