Millionaire and multiple grade I winner Precious Kitten has been sold for an undisclosed amount to Roy and Gretchen Jackson’s Lael Stable and will continue to race in 2008 out of the barn of trainer Bobby Frankel.
Ken and Sarah Ramsey, who bred and previously raced the Eclipse Award finalist for Champion Female Turf Horse and were among the top 10 owners of 2007 with earnings of $3,996,973, announced the sale in a Jan. 11 press release.
“We hope that she brings as much pleasure to the Jacksons as she did to us,” said Ken Ramsey. “Selling her was a tough decision, and we’ll miss running her in the big races this year. We hope she wins a 2008 Eclipse Award for the Jacksons and goes on to an equally successful career as a broodmare. We will be following her closely and hope to see them in the winner’s circle with her often this year.”
With career earnings of $1,419,688, Precious Kitten has finished in the money 16 times in 19 starts. In addition to Matriarch (gr. I) and John C. Mabee (gr. I) wins, she won the 2007 editions of the Palomar H. (gr. II) and Gallorette H. (gr. III) and the 2006 Mrs. Revere S. (gr. II) and Martha Washington Breeders’ Cup Stakes, setting a new Pimlico course record of 1:40.32 for 1 1/16 miles in the Gallorette win.
Precious Kitten is by Catienus, out of Kitten’s First. Catienus, the leading New York sire for 2006 and 2007, is standing at Ramsey Farm in Kentucky in 2008 for a stud fee of $15,000.
Kitten’s First is also the dam of 2004 Champion Male Turf Horse Kitten's Joy, who stands at Ramsey Farm for a $30,000 stud fee.
Roy and Gretchen Jackson’s Lael Stables caught the public’s attention when unbeaten Barbaro won the 2006 edition of the Kentucky Derby. Joining Barbaro in the gate in Louisville that day was stablemate Showing Up, marking the first time that two previously undefeated horses represented the same owner in the Kentucky Derby.
The Jackson’s reaction to Barbaro’s severe breakdown in the Preakness—doing everything in their power to try to save the beloved horse—endeared them to racing fans around the world. The Jacksons also bred 2000 Guineas and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes winner George Washington.
