Ken and Sarah Ramsey added another graded stakes winner to their list of homebreds by their stallion Kitten's Joy when Granny's Kitten wore down Western Reserve to score in the $125,000 Colonel E. R. Bradley Stakes (G3T) Jan. 21 at Fair Grounds Racing & Slots. Video: Colonel E. R. Bradley H. (G3T)
A field of six 4-year-olds and older went about 1 1/16 miles on turf rated soft.
Trained by Michael Maker, the 5-year-old Granny's Kitten settled off the pace until they came out of the far turn where he gave chase to frontrunners Western Reserve and Chocolate Ride. Chocolate Ride tried to stay with the two but faded.
In the final sixteenth of a mile, Granny's Kitten dueled with runner-up Western Reserve and prevailed by a neck under strong urging from jockey Miguel Mena in a final time of 1:43.61. Chocolate Ride held on for third.
"Last time out it was a soft first quarter of a mile and today I hustled him out of there and 23 and change was better than the last race," Mena said. "We had a great trip. Chocolate Ride pressed his partner around the turn and then we fought hard."
With the win, Mena picked up his second stakes victory of the day, after winning the Louisiana Stakes aboard Hawaakom one race prior.
The winner returned $10.69, $4.80, and $2.60 across the board. Western Reserve paid $3.40 and $2.40, while Chocolate Ride paid $2.20.
Blarp, Pumpkin Rumble, and One Mean Man completed the order of finish. One Mean Man had been backed out of the gate at the start but was deemed able to run by a veterinarian.
Granny's Kitten last won an allowance race at Keeneland Oct. 26, but prior to that had placed in three stakes and won the Sept. 26 Alphabet Soup Handicap at Parx Racing. He finished sixth in the Tropical Turf Handicap (G3T) at Gulfstream Park West Nov. 23 and third in the Buddy Dilberto Memorial Stakes Dec. 17 at Fair Grounds leading up to this race. As a 3-year-old Granny's Kitten competed in two grade 1 races, finishing out of the money in the Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes and the Secretariat Stakes.
Granny's Kitten is out of the Grand Slam mare Granny Franny and is a full brother to 2013 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes (G1T) winner Kitten's Dumplings. The mare has now produced two graded stakes winners, a stakes winner, and a winner from five foals to race.
