Stephanie’s Kitten all set for her seasonal debut in the Ashland Stakes at Keeneland
3 wins in her 5 career starts with two recent back to back wins, Stephanie’s Kitten, has chosen a tough race to run for her hat-trick in the Grade 1, $500,000 Ashland Stakes, after scrapping a potential run in the $150,000 Herecomesthebride Stakes, but trainer
Wayne Catalnao didn’t opt for the supplement race as he chose to work her over the local turf course instead, and wait for a much more lucrative spot.
The 3-year-old Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey homebred filly, Stephanie’s Kitten will be running over a distance of 1 1/16 miles in the Grade 1 Ashland Stakes over the Keeneland’s synthetic surface on 7 April, 2012, a race that is exclusive for 3-year-old fillies.
Stephanie’s Kitten started her career at Arlington Park, where she failed to land her maiden special weight race at first asking over a distance of five and a half furlongs, but when over the same course stretched out in distance to 1 mile, the Kentucky
bred showed her true skill and talent and landed her maiden race at second asking under J Alvarado last year.
With the Breeders’ Cup in sight, Stephanie’s Kitten opted for graded stakes race right away, and opted for the Grade 3 Natalma Stakes at Woodbine on 17 September, 2011, but finished third to winner, Northern Passion and runner-up Dayatthespa.
It was Keeneland where the daughter of Kitten’s Joy, out of mare Unfold the Rose by Catienus, struck in a grade 1 race, which was the Grade 1 Alcibiades Stakes over a distance of 1 1/16 miles on 7 October, 2011, where she went all out and posted her first
race of any significance with the winning time of 1 minute and 43.12 seconds.
Winning the Alcibiades at synthetic surface, Stephanie’s Kitten was reverted back to turf and cut back in distance to a mile to run in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Churchill Downs last fall, as she downed a competitive field and won
the race in 1 minute and 38.80 seconds, as she defeated Stopshoppingmaria in second and Sweet Cat in third.
In her recent work, Stephanie’s Kitten turned in a six furlong work in 1 minute and 17 seconds ahead of her seasonal debut in the Ashland Stakes.
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