Big Blue Kitten closes fast to win Sword Dancer

Ken and Sarah Ramsey's homebred Big Blue Kitten roared home in Saturday's

$600,000

Sword

Dancer Invitational at Saratoga, posting his second consecutive Grade 1

victory with the one-length decision. The five-year-old horse inhaled rivals in

the stretch with the same powerful kick he displayed taking the United Nations

at Monmouth Park last month.

Trained by Chad Brown and ridden by Joe Bravo, Big Blue Kitten dropped back

at the start of the 1 1/2-mile turf affair and raced last of 12 after the

opening half-mile. His entry-mate, Stormy Lord, performed his duties as

pacesetter, sprinting to the fore at the break and setting splits in :24, :49

4/5, 1:14 1/5 and 1:39 2/5 before retreating.

Big Blue Kitten saved ground along the inside before advancing on the far

turn, negotiating his way through traffic before finding room in upper stretch.

Twilight Eclipse, who stalked the pace in third most of the way, surged to the

lead off the far turn and tried hard all the way to the wire, but he was no

match for his hard-charging rival in the final sixteenth of a mile. Big Blue

Kitten rolled past by the game runner-up to win going away under the wire,

stopping the teletimer in 2:26 2/5 on the firm inner turf.

"I'm going to give all the thanks to Chad (Brown)," said Bravo, who came in

from New Jersey to ride Big Blue Kitten for the third straight race. "For my

trip, it was pretty relaxed and quiet the whole time.

"At the top of the lane, he had them horses come over on him a little bit.

All I had to do was swing him out and get him clear, and he did the rest.

(Brown) did all the hard work. He just gave me the confidence in the horse. The

minute we walked in the paddock, he told me to ride him with confidence. The

happiest I was was turning for home. I'm looking at each rider and they're

riding their horses, and I hadn't even asked the Kitten yet."

Off as the 5-2 second choice, Big Blue Kitten paid $7.90 to win.

Bravo picked up the mount for the Grade 2 Monmouth on June 9, guiding the bay

horse to a runner-up finish behind Boisterous, who wound up eighth as the

favorite in the Sword Dancer.

Brown gave credit to the rider afterward.

"I left it up to Joe," Brown said when asked about strategy heading into the

race. "He has so much confidence in this horse since the first time he rode him.

He really talked me into running in the United Nations and I was super confident

bringing him up here and keeping him on this horse.

"In the paddock, Joe felt he was the winner every step of the way. He says,

'I just love this horse. I'll work the trip out,' and he did."

Twilight Eclipse, the 7-2 third choice in the wagering, easily held second by

about two lengths in a quality effort.

"I had a beautiful trip," jockey Javier Castellano said of the runner-up. "I

am very satisfied with the way he did it today and unfortunately he ran second

best. But at the same time, I am very proud he did it so well."

French stakes winner and Group 1-placed Nutello finished third in his U.S.

debut, edging the filly Tannery by a head. Al Khali, who had placed in the last

three runnings of the Sword Dancer, wound up fifth this year. London Lane, Star

Channel, Boisterous, Exclusive Strike, Tahoe Lake and Stormy Lord came next

under the wire. Optimizer was eased and Teaks North scratched.

Big Blue Kitten is a five-year-old son of the Ramseys' turf champion Kitten's

Joy and he has come a long way since breaking his maiden for a $35,000 tag on

the Gulfstream Park turf in 2011. That marked the beginning of a five-race

winning streak, capped by a victory in the National Museum of Racing Hall of

Fame at Saratoga.

In his 2012 premiere, Big Blue Kitten finished third in the Gulfstream Park

Turf. A distant second to Wise Dan in his track record-setting romp in the Ben

Ali over Keeneland's Polytrack next time, he made an audacious tilt at the

Prince of Wales's at Royal Ascot and wound up 10th of 11. He did not resurface

until December, resuming with an allowance score at Gulfstream.

Big Blue Kitten kicked off 2013 with a third in the Ft. Lauderdale, but

quickly regained the winning thread with consecutive wins in salty allowances at

Gulfstream and Churchill, respectively. Those set him up for his useful raids on

Monmouth.

The Kentucky-bred was produced by the Unaccounted For mare Spent Gold, who is

herself a half-sister to stakes winner Clever Tish. With his third dam being

Grade 3 queen Mystical Mood, Big Blue Kitten comes from the female line of

champion Stevie Wonderboy, Grade/Group 2 victor Fair Judgment, multiple Grade 3

winner Ailalea and Group 3 scorer Theyskens' Theory.

With the $360,000 payday, Big Blue Kitten reached millionaire status

(earnings of $1,058,530) and his record now reads 17-10-2-4.

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