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Kitten's even more Precious after record-setting Gallorette score

Precious Kitten pounced in the Gallorette (Mathea Kelley/Horsephotos.com) Kenneth L. and Sarah K. Ramsey's homebred PRECIOUS KITTEN (Catienus) was already worth her weight in gold as a Grade 2-winning half-sister to 2004 turf champion Kitten's Joy (El Prado [Ire]), but the dark bay filly wasn't content to rest on her laurels in Saturday's $100,000 Gallorette H. (G3) at Pimlico. Making light of her top impost of 122 pounds, the Bobby Frankel trainee established a new course record of 1:40.32 for 1 1/16 miles on the firm turf while cruising to a three-quarters of a length victory. That time shaved .01 seconds off the former mark set by Air Attack in 1991. Precious Kitten secured an outside stalking trip beneath Rafael Bejarano in the opening stages. Up front, Humoristic (Sefapiano) dictated fractions of :23 2/5, :47 2/5 and 1:11, with Feelin' the Breeze (Belong to Me) tracking in second. On the far turn, Precious Kitten crept closer and took dead aim on the leading pair entering the stretch. Sweeping to the front, the 6-5 favorite asserted her superiority with a minimum of fuss to pay $4.60, $2.80 and $2.40, and spearhead exotics worth $46.20 (exacta), $353.60 (trifecta) and $1,416.20 (5-1-6-4 superfecta). "I thought Bejarano rode her perfectly," Kenneth Ramsey said. "He said before the race we had the best horse, and he put her in the race. "My wife (Sarah) had a stroke in February, and it's been tough on the whole family," he added. "The win today probably brought her some joy at home."

A True Pussycat (Yes It's True), who also stalked the early pace, got up for second to complete the all-feline exacta. The 14-1 shot returned $10 and $5 for finishing three-quarters of a length ahead of Trick's Pic (Favorite Trick), who yielded $6.80 to show, also at 14-1. Grigorieva (Ire) (Woodman) rallied from last to grab fourth, missing third by just a neck, and was trailed by Aunt Henny (Hennessy), Feelin' the Breeze, Humoristic and High Moment (High Yield). Cozy Gain (Cozzene), Debbie Sue (Citidancer) and Roshani (Fantastic Light) were withdrawn.

Precious Kitten boosted her bankroll to $449,688 from her 13-4-6-1 line. After placing in the Regret S. (G3) and Heavenly Cause H. last summer, she really came into her own in the fall. She captured the Mrs. Revere S. (G2) and Martha Washington Breeders' Cup S., and in between those scores, she finished second in the off-the-turf Valley View S. (G3). In both of her prior starts this year, Precious Kitten was an honorable runner-up to a pair of classy individuals. She chased champion Wait a While (Maria's Mon) in the Honey Fox H. (G3) and was just caught late by My Typhoon (Ire) (Giant's Causeway) in the off-the-turf Jenny Wiley S. (G2) last time out.

Out of the winning Kitten's First (Lear Fan), the Kentucky-bred is a half-sister not only to Kitten's Joy, but also to multiple stakes queen Justenuffheart (Broad Brush), the dam of last year's champion juvenile filly Dreaming of Anna (Rahy) and stakes victor Lewis Michael (Rahy).

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