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(12/03/06) 10th Stakes Winner For New York's Leading Sire, Catienus CATIENUS, when 2-year-old MY KITTY, bred by Kenneth L. & Sarah K. Ramsey, won the East View Stakes at Aqueduct on 12/03/06. This win came just two weeks after PRECIOUS KITTEN captured Churchill Downs' Mrs. Revere Stakes -G2, and three days later Talent Search ran a game second to rival Fabulous Strike in the Sophomore Sprint Champion Stakes. CATIENUS, the sire of 10 stakes winners from just three crops to race, boasts progeny earnings over $5.4 million ($3 million in 2006 alone). Against top horses like Giant's Causeway and More Than Ready, CATIENUS is currently ranked 7th on the nation's third crop sire list, just $130,000 below Fusaichi Pegasus ($75,000 fee) and hundreds of thousands above Dixie Union ($50,000 fee), Successful Appeal ($40,000 fee) and War Chant ($30,000 fee), to name a few. He has sired 75 of his 97 lifetime winners in 2006 and has 51 two-year-old winners, 5 of which are black-type. (12/06) Catienus Has Grade II Winner Saturday At Churchill Downs Kenneth L. and Sarah K. Ramsey's PRECIOUS KITTEN (CATIENUS/KITTEN'S FIRST), took command at the head of the Churchill stretch and staved off a late bid from J'ray to win Saturday's GII Mrs. Revere Stakes. PRECIOUS KITTEN ($329,688), is among nine stakes winners from three crops of racing age sired by the stakes-winning, dirt and turf proficient, CATIENUS, who is the current leading New York-based sire in 2006 progeny earnings. Stakes-winning offspring of CATIENUS include a Grade 1-winning colt on dirt, DAWN OF WAR ($409,489), and now he has a Grade 2-winning filly on the turf, PRECIOUS KITTEN. This puts CATIENUS 7th on the National Third Crop Sire List, behind GIANT'S CAUSEWAY, YES IT'S TRUE, MORE THAN READY, LEMON DROP KID, FUSAICHI PEGASUS and HIGH YIELD. (12/06) Prominent 2nd-crop sire Talk Is Money to stand 2007 at Highcliff Farm by Rab Hagin (Courtesy nybreds.com)
Nationally-ranked second-crop sire TALK IS MONEY is being relocated to stand at Carl Lizza Jr.'s and Joseph Bartone's Highcliff Farm in Delanson, where the fee for the stakes-winning son of champion and champion-siring Deputy Minister will be $5,000, live foal, standing as the property of a partnership. Talk Is Money already has sired more than 72 percent winners from starters in his first crop of current three-year-olds, including 2006 Hollywood Park stakes winner Blazing Sunset ($124,090) plus three stakes-placed winners and another six-figure-earner. Although he himself started only once as a two-year-old, winning his debut at Laurel Park by 9-3/4 lengths, Talk Is Money had nine two-year-old winners of 2005 from his first crop and recently got his fourth juvenile winner of 2006 from his second crop. The eight-year-old stallion -- one of whose yearling colts out of a non-black-type mare brought a final bid of $250,000 from agent Buzz Chace at Fasig-Tipton Kentucky's 2006 July selected yearling sale -- stood his first five seasons at Millennium Farms in Kentucky. Talk Is Money's racing career began brilliantly, with his dazzling debut followed by victory in Laurel's mile and a sixteenth Miracle Wood Stakes early in his three-year-old season, but he was thrown into Grade 1 competition immediately thereafter and was plagued with bad starts and wide trips. A third-placing among nine in Hialeah's historic graded Flamingo Stakes was followed by a runner-up effort in Pimlico's $145,500 Federico Tesio Stakes and then a badly-bumped Kentucky Derby outing which turned out to be his final start. Talk Is Money has successful sires on both sides of his pedigree, being out of a Gone West mare, Isle Go West, whose three graded-winning half-siblings include current top-10 international sire Hennessy. His champion sire, Deputy Minister, initially was recognized as a sire of champion fillies until his Grade 1-winning sons Dehere, Awesome Again, and Touch Gold emerged -- and all became outstanding sires. (12/03/06) My Kitty pounces to 1st stakes win in East View by Rab Hagin (Courtesy nybreds.com)
Capitalizing on ideal conditions for her newly-preferred stalking style, Darlene Bilinski's and Martin Zaretsky's MY KITTY prevailed in a three-way photo at the conclusion of a fiercely-fought stretch drive in Aqueduct's two-turn mile and a sixteenth East View Stakes for New York-bred two-year-old fillies on Sunday. It was the first stakes victory for the improving daughter of Catienus, who was the 3.90-to-1 third choice among six starters in the $70,070 event, with New York Thoroughbred Breeders (NYTB) 2002 Jockey of the Year John Velazquez on board for the third time -- second consecutive -- in competition. Allowed to settle after breaking from the inside post, My Kitty advanced from fifth to fourth in the opening half-mile while 11.50-to-1 fifth choice Visual Candy set the pace, but on the second turn she obviously was moving most easily among the three main contenders. The bay filly fanned out three wide in the upper stretch and by the final furlong had almost collared Visual Candy as well as that front-runner's next closest pursuer, 2.15-to-1 second choice Laurentide Ice, from which point those three fought it out to the wire. Less than two feet separated them at the finish, as My Kitty won on the outside, with Laurentide Ice second in the middle and Visual Candy third on the rail. "We had a good trip," acknowledged jockey Velazquez, who had ridden the East View winner in 1994 and had two winning rides on Sunday aboard New York-breds. "She really doesn't like to be hit; she kind of resented the whip a little. I thought she was going to go right by, but those other two really put up a good fight." My Kitty's conditioner, NYTB 2004 Trainer of the Year Gary Contessa, has had a rather busy weekend. In addition to being the trainer of all three stakes winners at Aqueduct on Saturday and Sunday -- New York-breds Magnolia Jackson and Successful Affair in the open Garland of Roses and Coyote Lakes Stakes, respectively, on Saturday -- his wife Jennifer went into labor on Sunday. Speaking by phone, Contessa complimented Velazquez's ride and observed that My Kitty is coming into her own as a route-runner: "Johnny (Velazquez) rode her to perfection. She's a true one-run, two-turn horse. So few horses want to go two turns, and when you have one that's a filly and a New York bred, that's great. We've had her dance every dance and she's been rock solid. She's getting good at the right time. I don't know when she'll run next." Bidding as agent, Contessa had gone to $40,000 at Fasig-Tipton Midlantic's 2006 May sale of two-year-olds in training in Timonium, Maryland to acquire My Kitty for owners Bilinski of Waldorf Farm in North Chatham and Zaretsky of Pine Ridge Stable Ltd. in Old Chatham. The East View victory boosted My Kitty's earnings by $42,042 to $112,567 and improved her record to two wins and two seconds in nine starts, which includes a close runner-up effort in New York Showcase Day's Maid of the Mist Stakes at a one-turn Belmont mile on October 21. She had placed second in a two-turn mile on Aqueduct's inner track while racing in a restricted N1X allowance contest just 15 days prior to the East View. My Kitty's East View victory also qualified nationally-prominent breeders Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey of Kentucky for a total of $11,351.34 in breeder and stallion owner awards, since they also own her sire, Catienus, who stands at Carl Lizza Jr.'s and Joseph Bartone's Highcliff Farm in Delanson. My Kitty is the 10th stakes winner from three crops of racing age by Catienus and his second stakes-winning representative within 15 days, following Precious Kitten, who edged New York-bred J'ray in Churchill Downs' Grade 2 Mrs. Revere Stakes for three-year-old fillies on turf on November 18. My Kitty is the second winner produced from stakes-placed six-time winner Private Stash, an Ohio-bred router who raced for the Ramsey couple, winning on dirt and turf and placing in stakes on both surfaces. Private Stash is out of Ohio-bred routing icon Tougaloo ($583,030), who won 11 stakes and is a half-sister to the multiple stakes-winning granddam of New York-bred graded winner and NYTB champion Dat You Miz Blue ($806,291).
(9/17) Lethimthinkhesboss held on stubbornly in $50,000 Genesee Valley Breeders' Handicap by Matt Church (Courtesy nybreds.com) (9/17) Trackmen Golf Club Stable's LETHIMTHINKHESBOSS gained the lead with a furlong to go and then held on stubbornly to turn back Tommasi to capture today's $50,000 Genesee Valley Breeders' Handicap by a neck. Lethimthinkhesboss shipped in from Belmont Park and whistled in a NW3X around two turns by nine and three-quarter lengths. Prior to that score, The Bruce Levine trained monster bested a group of wide-open $35,000 claimers at Belmont Park going one mile by three and one-half lengths. Carrying 120 pounds and leading jockey John Davila, Lethimthinkhesboss was sent off as the luke warm favorite at $2.25 to 1. Arnie Chusid's Pinky Freud carried the highweight of 125 pounds and Joe Badamo. Pinky Freud was coming off a front-running ten and one-half length romp in a $25,000 overnight handicap going one mile and seventy yards was the second choice at $2.50 to 1. Today's contest was for three year olds and upward going one mile and one-sixteenth. Pinky Freud broke on top and stopped the timer for the opening quarter in 23.41 with Long Lost Pal stalking along the four path. The half was clocked in 46.94 with the three-quarters going in 1:11.32. Pinky Freud continued on with the advantage but Lethimthinkhesboss was taking dead aim in upper stretch. The pair reached the eighth pole heads apart with Tommasi beginning to make his bid. Lethimthinkhesboss put Pinky Freud away and then under strong handling by Davila they turned back the late bid from Tommasi to get the money by a neck. War Paint finished well to earn a share. Lethimthinkhesboss covered the distance over a fast track in 145.03 and earned $30,000. Bred by Flying Zee Stables, the five year old gelding by Demidoff out of Dictator Lady by Slew City Slew now has seven career wins out of 36 starts and $298,726 in money won. Also the Flying Zee Stable's bred runner qualified for $3,000 in breeders' awards.
(8/7/06 )
Ask Queenie All Heart in Last Dance Stakes Suffolk Downs: News and Notes (7/17/06) NY-conceived Ask Queenie - by NY sire Key Contender - New England Horse of the Year by Rab Hagin (Courtesy nybreds.com) In what clearly was no surprise, Laurine Barreira's New York-conceived Ask Queenie was named New England's horse of the year, top New England-bred, and top New England turf performer by the region's turf writers at an annual awards dinner in Danversport, Massachusetts on Monday evening, July 17. Ask Queenie ($332,510), a five-year-old daughter of New York-based stallion KEY CONTENDER, has captured eight stakes beginning with her 2003 juvenile season -- five on dirt and three on turf and twice beating males in stakes despite conceding actual weight both times. In 2005, the versatile mare won seven of 11 starts, including four stakes, and on June 3 she cruised to her 13th victory by 5-1/2 lengths in Suffolk Downs' six-furlong Isadorable Stakes on a sloppy track even though she prefers two-turn distances and seems particularly formidable on turf. Conceived at Carl Lizza Jr.'s and Joseph Bartone's Highcliff Farm in Delanson, Ask Queenie is among a long line of six-figure earners sired by syndicated Highcliff stallion Key Contender (Fit to Fight - Key Witness, by Key to the Mint), whose cumulative progeny earnings are approaching $5.7-million. Other six-figure earners sired by Grade 1 winner Key Contender, in addition to earlier stakes winner Noble Adversary, include Golden Contender ($315,505), Key to Love ($232,577), and Key on Richie ($226,360). (7/17) NY-conceived Ask Queenie - by NY sire Key Contender - New England HOY In what clearly was no surprise, Laurine Barreira's New York-conceived Ask Queenie was named New England's horse of the year, top New England-bred, and top New England turf performer by the region's turf writers at an annual awards dinner in Danversport, Massachusetts on Monday evening, July 17. Ask Queenie ($332,510), a five-year-old daughter of New York-based stallion KEY CONTENDER, has captured eight stakes beginning with her 2003 juvenile season -- five on dirt and three on turf and twice beating males in stakes despite conceding actual weight both times. In 2005, the versatile mare won seven of 11 starts, including four stakes, and on June 3 she cruised to her 13th victory by 5-1/2 lengths in Suffolk Downs' six-furlong Isadorable Stakes on a sloppy track even though she prefers two-turn distances and seems particularly formidable on turf. Conceived at Carl Lizza Jr.'s and Joseph Bartone's Highcliff Farm in Delanson, Ask Queenie is among a long line of six-figure earners sired by syndicated Highcliff stallion Key Contender (Fit to Fight - Key Witness, by Key to the Mint), whose cumulative progeny earnings are approaching $5.7-million. Other six-figure earners sired by Grade 1 winner Key Contender, in addition to earlier stakes winner Noble Adversary, include Golden Contender ($315,505), Key to Love ($232,577), and Key on Richie ($226,360). (6/3/06) NY-conceived Ask Queenie - by Key Contender - gets 8th stakes win by Rab Hagin (Courtesy nybreds.com) Though she clearly prefers to go two turns and has shown a distinct fondness for turf, Laurine Barreira's five-year-old KEY CONTENDER mare, Ask Queenie, vastly out-classed her competition in Suffolk Downs' six-furlong Isadorable Stakes for Massachusetts-bred fillies and mares on Saturday, June 3. Co-topweighted under 124 pounds and odds-on (.70-to-1) among seven wagering interests and eight starters with jockey Winston Thompson on board for the black-type event, the versatile chestnut took command in the final furlong and drew off to a 5-1/2-length victory on the sloppy and sealed track. Her eighth stakes victory starting with her 2003 juvenile season -- five on dirt and three on turf and twice beating males in stakes despite conceding actual weight both times -- increased her earnings to $327,510 and improved her record to 13 - 5 - 7 in 26 starts. The indestructible New York-conceived campaigner is trained by Lori Lockhart, who is the mother of Ask Queenie's owner and the daughter of the mare's breeder, Lloyd Lockhart of Somerset, Massachusetts. Conceived at Carl Lizza Jr.'s and Joseph Bartone's Highcliff Farm in Delanson, where Grade 1 winner Key Contender (Fit to Fight - Key Witness, by Key to the Mint) stands, Ask Queenie is a classic example of a non-New York-bred who could have been New York Stallion Stakes-eligible but is not. Other standouts fitting that description include 1994 Kentucky Derby winner Go for Gin and more recent Grade 1 winners Got Koko and Friendly Michelle. Ask Queenie is a half-sister to two other Highcliff-conceived stakes performers: multiple stakes winner Little Time ($119,884) and multiple stakes-placed winner Puddle Time. Although she is the third stakes-performing winner produced from stakes-placed winner Time to Ask, by L'Amour Rullah, Ask Queenie is her dam's only offspring to have won as a two-year-old. She is among 10 winners in 2006 and 91 winners of 295 races overall sired by syndicated Key Contender, who stands for a fee of $3,500, live foal, at Highcliff Farm and has total progeny earnings in excess of $5.6-million. (6/19) 4 NY stallions crack $1-million mark for 2006 pre-midyear progeny earnings New York stallions TOMORROWS CAT, A. P JET, CHIEF SEATTLE, and CATIENUS have all topped $1-million in 2006 progeny earnings as of June 19 and are in a tight race for leadership of the state -- with less than $65,000 separating all four. The current leader, syndicated Tomorrows Cat (Storm Cat - Tomorrow's Child, by Al Nasr), stands at Metropolitan Stud in Pine Plains under the management of Questroyal Stud, LLC. The Grade 2-winning stallion had his 2006 progeny earnings figure boosted by $81,072 to $1,087,636 when his five-year-old New York-bred son, West Virginia ($885,918), placed a rallying third in Churchill Downs' Grade 1 $750,000 Stephen Foster Handicap on Saturday, June 17. Other stakes winners from the first three crops of Tomorrows Cat, whose lifetime progeny earnings now approach $7.8-million, are 2005-2006 stakes winner Carminooch ($246,835) plus So Sweet a Cat ($439,048), Kat Kool, A. Caterina, and Abbys Silverdream. Syndicated A. P Jet (Fappiano - Taminette, by In Reality), who continues recovering from a freak accident encounter with the now-deceased stallion Gold Token on April 30, has been leading New York sire in 2006 progeny earnings for most of the year and through June 19 has a figure of $1,084,406. The group winner of $1,622,369 has sired 10 stakes winners to date and has cumulative progeny earnings of more than $12.8-million. A. P Jet stands at Howard Kaskel's Sugar Maple Farm in Poughquag. The first stakes winners to represent Darley's Chief Seattle (Seattle Slew - Skatingonthinice, by Icecapade) are 2006 Grade 2 winner and Grade 1-placed Seafree ($266,610) plus his latest at Finger Lakes on June 18, New York-bred three-year-old Donkey Engine. Also sire of a 2006 juvenile winner from his third crop, the multiple Grade 1-placed stallion is the leading third-crop sire in New York and is ranked 13th in that category for all North American stallions with 2006 progeny earnings of $1,045,762 and cumulative offspring earnings almost at $2.3-million. Chief Seattle stands at Kurt Butenhoff's and James Lamonica's Empire Stud in Hudson. Ranking razor-close to Chief Seattle among North American third-crop sires is Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey's New York-based Catienus (Storm Cat - Diamond City, by Mr. Prospector), who picked up his 12th stakes performer when his three-year-old daughter, Precious Kitten, placed third in Churchill Downs' Grade 3 Regret Stakes on June 17. The six stakes winners among those 12 include Grade 1 winner Dawn of War ($409,489), 2006 stakes winner Warrior Within, and Grade 1-placed Nolan's Cat ($286,394). Catienus, whose 2006 progeny earnings of $1,024,250 has boosted his cumulative offspring earnings to well over $3.5-million, stands at Carl Lizza Jr.'s and Joseph Bartone's Highcliff Farm in Delanson. (6/3) NY-conceived Ask Queenie - by Key Contender - gets 8th stakes win Though she clearly prefers to go two turns and has shown a distinct fondness for turf, Laurine Barreira's five-year-old KEY CONTENDER mare, Ask Queenie, vastly out-classed her competition in Suffolk Downs' six-furlong Isadorable Stakes for Massachusetts-bred fillies and mares on Saturday, June 3. Co-topweighted under 124 pounds and odds-on (.70-to-1) among seven wagering interests and eight starters with jockey Winston Thompson on board for the black-type event, the versatile chestnut took command in the final furlong and drew off to a 5-1/2-length victory on the sloppy and sealed track. Her eighth stakes victory starting with her 2003 juvenile season -- five on dirt and three on turf and twice beating males in stakes despite conceding actual weight both times -- increased her earnings to $327,510 and improved her record to 13 - 5 - 7 in 26 starts. The indestructible New York-conceived campaigner is trained by Lori Lockhart, who is the mother of Ask Queenie's owner and the daughter of the mare's breeder, Lloyd Lockhart of Somerset, Massachusetts. Conceived at Carl Lizza Jr.'s and Joseph Bartone's Highcliff Farm in Delanson, where Grade 1 winner Key Contender (Fit to Fight - Key Witness, by Key to the Mint) stands, Ask Queenie is a classic example of a non-New York-bred who could have been New York Stallion Stakes-eligible but is not. Other standouts fitting that description include 1994 Kentucky Derby winner Go for Gin and more recent Grade 1 winners Got Koko and Friendly Michelle. Ask Queenie is a half-sister to two other Highcliff-conceived stakes performers: multiple stakes winner Little Time ($119,884) and multiple stakes-placed winner Puddle Time. Although she is the third stakes-performing winner produced from stakes-placed winner Time to Ask, by L'Amour Rullah, Ask Queenie is her dam's only offspring to have won as a two-year-old. She is among 10 winners in 2006 and 91 winners of 295 races overall sired by syndicated Key Contender, who stands for a fee of $3,500, live foal, at Highcliff Farm and has total progeny earnings in excess of $5.6-million. (5/16) 1st-crop juvenile filly by NY-based Millennium
Wind brings $260K at Barretts sale of 2yos (5/6) Bettarun Fast - 3yo filly by NY stallion Kelly
Kip - wins Hollywood's G3 Railbird (4/1) Kelly Kip joins Tomorrows Cat, Chief Seattle
among NY-based '06 graded sires (2/4) NY stallion Catienus represented by 6th SW
Warrior Within during active 2 days |
