Stephanie’s Kitten’s perfect trip at Churchill Downs helped her take the Edgewood Stakes
Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey owned 3-year-old filly, Stephanie’s Kitten had to bounce back from her seasonal debut defeat to get her season back on track, and being sent as the even money choice in a field of 12 fillies more often than not pans out positively,
as it did for Wayne M. Catalano trained filly when she downed a massive field in the $184,800 Edgewood Stakes at Churchill Downs on 4 May, 2012, and in the process set a new stakes record.
Bred in Kentucky by Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey, Stephanie’s Kitten was coming off a third place finish in the Grade 1 Ashland Stakes over at Keeneland’s synthetic surface.
On 7 April, 2012, under jockey Julien Leparoux, she couldn’t go past Karlovy Vary and Hard Not To Like in the 1 1/16 mile test, as the two finished first and second, respectively.
The 3-year-old Kitten’s Joy filly, teamed up with John Velazquez yet again to extend their perfect record together to 3 in 3.
Julien Leparoux this time rode Welcome Dance, and the pair assumed the lead from the word go, and set the pace.
Reeling the field through to brisk fractions of 23.81 seconds for the opening quarter mile, as they took 47.36 seconds for the half mile marker and reached the six furlong pole in 1 minute and 11.10 seconds.
Out of Catienus mare Unfold the Rose, Stephanie’s Kitten inched closer coming off the pace, and just before the eighth pole it was Stephanie’s Kitten in the lead.
Rosie Napravnik had a great over the 26 to 1 long shot, Firehouse Red, and closed up ground rapidly to finish second behind Stephanie’s Kitten, as the winner downed the 1 1/16 mile distance over the Churchill Downs turf track in 1 minute and 40.94 seconds,
as Welcome Dance finished third.
Stephanie’s Kitten has been back and forth on synthetic and turf surfaces, and last year she downed the Grade 1 Alcibiades Stakes over Keeneland’s synthetic surface going 1 1/16 miles, and in her immediate race won the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies
Turf over at Churchill Downs turf track.
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