Stephanie’s Kitten gets out in time in Lake Placid

Stephanie’s Kitten had to wait for room, but once in the clear, flew home to catch Centre Court (right) (NYRA/Adam Coglianese via Twitter) When Stephanie’s Kitten was bottled up along the fence at the top of the stretch in Sunday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Lake Placid Stakes, backers of the even-money favorite likely suffered flashbacks. For it was the same type of trip that resulted in her luckless fourth in the Grade 2 Lake George Stakes on July 25. But this time, fortune smiled on the Ken and Sarah Ramsey homebred, who was able to extricate herself and got up by a half-length. Hall of Fame inductee John Velazquez had to ride for luck, for the stalker had drawn the rail on Sunday. Stephanie’s Kitten drafted in the slipstream of the front-running Medolina through splits of :23 3/5, :48 4/5 and 1:13 1/5, while hemmed in by Lake George winner Centre Court, who was loping in second to her outside. Centre Court accordingly got the first shot at the leader turning into the stretch. As she went after a stubborn Medolina, a small seam opened between them. Stephanie’s Kitten was poised to pounce, but the crevice shrank, and Velazquez decided that he had to alter course. At the same time, Better Lucky was trying to rally wider out, but she was not making much headway. That left an escape hatch for Velazquez and Stephanie’s Kitten.

Now with a path to her outside, Stephanie’s Kitten angled around Centre Court
in midstretch and saw daylight at last. The daughter of turf champion Kitten’s
Joy produced a terrific turn of foot to collar Centre Court, gaining revenge for
the Lake George and completing 1 1/8 miles on the firm inner turf in 1:48 2/5.

“I was on the rail the whole way,” Velazquez recapped. “That’s where I broke,
and we planned to stay there to save the best ground we could, and I stayed
there till the three-sixteenths pole and worked my way out till I finally got
out at the eighth-pole. When I asked, she responded right away.

“It was a great effort by her and an incredible last eighth. I know she has
it in her, and as soon as I pulled her out and hit her with the whip she
responded right away, so I was very impressed at the way she did it.”

Aside from returning $4.20, $3.10 and $2.20 to her supporters, the Wayne
Catalano pupil boosted her bankroll into seven-figure territory, and now sports
$1,104,082 in earnings from her 9-5-0-3 line.

Centre Court held second by three-quarters of a length from the late-running
Somali Lemonade, who bested Medolina by the same margin for third. Better Lucky
checked in fifth, and Disposablepleasure trailed.

Rusty Arnold, Centre Court’s trainer, paid tribute to Stephanie’s Kitten
while mentioning that the winner was getting four pounds.

“She got outrun,” Arnold said. “We had a good trip and were where we wanted
to be. She kicked; that filly’s a good filly and she just outran her.

“We’re giving her weight (as the 122-pound highweight), and that’s a little
bit of a problem, but she outran us. They came home in :11 and a couple, and
that’s tough. What are you going to do? My filly ran the whole way and she
kicked home; she just got outrun. It was a very nice race. I’m thrilled to death
with her. You never want to get beat, but we’re thrilled.”

Stephanie’s Kitten broke her maiden in her second career start, but first on
turf, at Arlington Park last August. Third in the Grade 3 Natalma in her stakes
debut at Woodbine, she rallied from well back to take the Grade 1 Alcibiades on
the Polytrack at Keeneland. The bay capped her 2011 campaign with a driving
victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

Reverting to Polytrack in
her sophomore bow, Stephanie’s Kitten finished third in the Grade 1 Ashland at
Keeneland on April 7. She returned to turf for the May 4 Edgewood at Churchill
Downs, where she scampered to a convincing two-length decision in stakes-record
time. An assault on Royal Ascot for the Group 1 Coronation Stakes had to be
called off because of unsatisfactory bloodwork, and she did not race again until
the Lake George.

Catalano noted that Stephanie’s Kitten had a problematic trip from early on
that day.

“The first turn cost him more than anything, I think,” the trainer recalled.
“She got slammed in the corner, got her back too far. She still was going to
win; she just got a rough trip down by the eighth-pole.”

Velazquez also compared the two trips.

“You get lucky sometimes, and sometimes you don’t,” the rider said. “I was a
little more cautious about it today; last time the spot was there and I gunned
into the spot without any hesitation. Today, I took my time and said, ‘Let me
see where I’m going to go. Am I going to go between them, or go around them
little by little until I know where I am going?’ Once I got her out, she
responded right away. The extra distance wasn’t a concern.”

Catalano outlined future plans.

“I think (we’ll go) to the Queen Elizabeth II (Grade 1 on October 13 at
Keeneland) and the Breeders’ Cup,” Catalano said. “I’ll talk to Mr. Ramsey. We
mapped out a little plan; hopefully it all works out.”

The Kentucky-bred is out of the unraced Catienus mare Unfold the Rose,
herself a daughter of Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks queen Bail Out Becky. This is the
family of multiple Peruvian Group 1 star Fly Lexis Fly, Grade 1-winning sire
More Than Ready and fellow Grade 1 scorers Cutlass Reality, Seldom Seen Sue and
Ten Most Wanted.

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