Stephanie's Kitten wins the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf for owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey and trainer Wayne Catalano. John Velazuez was the winning rider.
Stephanie's Kitten sat mid-pack throughout the $1,000,000 race while Mike Repole's Stopshoppingmaria took the field around the Churchill Downs turf course. Stephanie's Kitten made her move down the stretch to overcome Stopshoppingmaria by a winning margin of 3/4 lengths. Sweet Cat was another 1 1/4 lengths back in third, a neck in front of fourth place finisher Up.
"She was amazing," said jockey John Velazquez. "As soon as I asked her to go in between those other two horses, she responded right away. It's nice when you can ride horses like that. It makes it easy for us. She's game for anything I ask her to do. That's what I like about her."
Although the Ramseys have had many winners in their history, this was the first Breeders' Cup victory as a breeder, from their sire Kitten's Joy.
The namesake for Stephanie's Kitten, Ken and Sarah Ramsey's granddaughter had one word to say about the victory and having her namesake become a Breeders' Cup Champion, "Amazing!"
The favorite, the European Elusive Kate, finished eighth.
"The draw was not good for her [post 10]," said jockey William Buick. "She had trouble handling the ground. It was very loose, and she was skidding all over the place."
The winning payout for a $2 wager on Stephanie's Kitten was $14.20, $6.60, and $5.20. Stopshoppingmaria returned $9.20 and $7.60. Sweet Cat paid $9.40 for third.
Photo: Breeders' Cup
