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Ben Cat's, Bridgetown have
rematch at Old Hilltop
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| Ben's Cat, a two-time Maryland Horse of the Year, races for legendary Maryland horseman King Leatherbury
(Bill Denver/Equi-Photo) |
The Black-Eyed Susan and Pimlico Special are the highlights of Pimlico's
stakes-laden card on Friday, but a pair of five-furlong grass sprints will offer
more than their fair share of intrigue.
The $100,000
Jim
McKay Turf Sprint features a rematch between the Maryland-bred gelding Ben's
Cat and the Todd Pletcher-trained Bridgetown, both of whom have been prolific
stakes winners throughout the East and Midwest over the past several seasons.
A homebred trained by legendary Maryland horseman King Leatherbury, Ben's Cat
has bankrolled more than $1.4 million while winning virtually all of the the
region's leading grass sprints at least once. Hero of the last two editions of
the Turf Monster Handicap at Parx, Ben's Cat has also secured wins in the
Pennsylvania Governor's Cup, the 2011 Jim McKay Turf Sprint, and three editions
each of the Maryland Million Turf Sprint and Mister Diz.
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"Every 80 years, a man gets this kind of horse," Leatherbury half-joked last
weekend. "He's never been better."
Bridgetown, who would become a millionaire with a victory Friday, has
captured Grade 3 events at Woodbine and Keeneland, won the last two runnings of
the Troy at Saratoga, and has placed twice in the Twin Spires Turf Sprint at
Churchill Downs. Success has eluded him in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint,
however, including last fall's renewal at Santa Anita where the Speightstown
horse trailed the field of 14.
The pair last met in June 2012, in the $150,000 Parx Dash in Philadelphia,
with Ben's Cat getting the upper hand by two lengths.
Potential upsetters in the Jim McKay include Kens Cape and Super Chunky, a
close third and fourth, respectively, in a stakes at Atlantic City earlier this
month. The latter was the runner-up in the 2012 Jim McKay Turf Sprint.
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| Sensible Lady will defend her title in the five-furlong The Very One
(Melissa Wirth/Horsephotos.com) |
The $100,000
The Very
One, which honors the filly that beat the boys in the 1979 Dixie Handicap
over 1 1/2 miles, is the female counterpart to the Jim McKay Turf Sprint. The
overflow field includes the first four finishers from the $100,000 Giant's
Causeway at Keeneland on April 20: Sweet Cassiopeia, Spun Cap, Sounds of the
City, and Sensible Lady.
Sweet Cassiopeia enters on a five-race win streak for trainer Bill Connelly,
and was much the best in the Giant's Causeway when posting a 1 1/4-length
victory. She was scratched from last Saturday's Unbridled Sidney after the
Churchill Downs turf course came up wet.
While Spun Cap and Sounds of the City are both seeking their first stakes
win, Sensible Lady, a four-time stakes winner last season, will attempt to keep
her undefeated record over the Pimlico turf intact. At last year's meet,
Sensible Lady, then three, beat older rivals in both an allowance and in The
Very One, the latter as a 24-1 longshot.
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Others of note in the field are Nechez Dawn, who captured the Daisycutter
Handicap at Del Mar last summer, and the Doug O'Neill-trained There Is No Limit,
an allowance winner at Santa Anita and Keeneland this term. Hoping to draw in
off the also-eligible list is the venerable nine-year-old Suzzona, the 2012 The
Very One winner who recently returned from a one-year absence to defeat starter
allowance foes by five lengths at Atlantic City.
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| Kitten's Point narrowly prevailed in the Herecomesthebride when she last raced on grass
(Adam Coglianese Photography/Leslie Martin) |
A solid field of three-year-old fillies will contest the $100,000
Hilltop
over 1 1/16 miles on the turf. The field is led by Grade 3 winner Kitten's
Point, who captured the Herecomesthebride at Gulfstream two back, and was a
distant third in the Ashland at Keeneland last out. Also vying for favoritism is
Gulfstream allowance winner Summer of Fun, third last fall in the Breeders' Cup
Juvenile Fillies Turf and the Jessamine.
Others of note are Premier Steps, winner of the Sweetest Chant at Gulfstream
in January, and Birdlover, a Grade 3-placed stakes winner at Santa Anita for
Doug O'Neill.
Seven older fillies and mares will dash six furlongs on the main track in the
$100,000
Skipat. The top draws include Barbara Fritchie Handicap winner Funnys
Approval and Dance to Bristol, a nine-length heroine of the Sugar Maple at
Charles Town last month. Multiple stakes winner Winning Image and the multiple
Grade 2-placed stakes winner Strike the Moon also merit consideration.
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The likely favorites in the $100,000
Miss
Preakness, a six-furlong test for three-year-old fillies, are Grade 3 winner
Blueeyesintherein, who suffered her first career loss in the Eight Belles at
Churchill Downs May 3; Jewel of a Cat, 2 3/4-length winner of the Stormy Blues
at Pimlico last month; Tread, a last-out allowance winner at Fair Grounds for
trainer Al Stall Jr.; and I'm Mom's Favorite, who demolished Pimlico allowance
foes by seven lengths in her most recent outing.
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