Nine-year-old Ben’s Cat ‘in the best shape’

Ben’s Cat is a fan favorite (Jim McCue/Maryland Jockey Club)

In case trainer King Leatherbury needed any reminder of the
popularity of his nine-year-old gelding Ben’s Cat (Parker’s Storm Cat), it came recently in the form of
a package to the barn.

“I just got a bucket full of horse cookies — It costs about $50 for these
cookies,” Leatherbury said. “The woman’s name was on the bucket and so I called
and I asked, ‘Do I know you?’ And she said ‘No.’ I said, ‘Well then what are you
doing?’ She said, ‘I’m just a big fan of Ben.’

“He’s probably the most famous horse in this
area that there’s ever been,” said Leatherbury, one of the Mid-Atlantic’s most
famous horseman and an inductee to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of
Fame. “For one thing, not only is he exciting to watch, but he’s lasted so long
that it gives people a chance to know him.”

The multiple Grade 3-winning Ben’s Cat, bred by Leatherbury and a winner of 29 of 48 races and $2.4 million
in earnings, shows no sign of
slowing down. His winning performance May 15 on Black-Eyed Susan Day at Pimlico
in the Jim McKay Turf Sprint H. shook the building. He followed that up with a gutsy
second-place finish, beaten a nose, in the Pennsylvania Governor’s Cup on May 30
despite not getting the best of trips.