Despite missing prep, Ramsey expecting Whenigettoheaven to fire in Ben's Cat
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After scratching from an allowance last month, trainer Nolan Ramsey must trust Whenigettoheaven to win his third straight edition of the $100,000 Ben’s Cat Stakes off a short break. Despite missing a prep, the 7-year-old gelding should be prepared to fire on Saturday at Laurel Park.
“It’s going to be up to the horse,“ Ramsey said. “He may be 7 years old, but I don’t think anybody’s told him that. He seems to be as good as he’s always been.”
In the $100,000 King T. Leatherbury at Laurel in April, Ramsey said he didn’t expect much from his seasoned veteran, who was coming off a four-month layoff and breaking from the far outside post in the field of 13. Bettors agreed with the trainer’s assessment, making him a 19-1 longshot.
But in spite of those obstacles, the Maryland-bred rallied in an uncharacteristic closing trip to take third while beaten 1 1/4 lengths. He finished just behind Outlaw Kid and Chasing Liberty, who went on to finish one-two in the $125,000 Jim McKay Turf Sprint next time out.
“In all honesty, I thought his last-out effort may have been one of his best,” Ramsey said. “I don’t think it’s his favorite running style, over a wide post, and a bit of traffic. If we had a bit cleaner trip or a better break, maybe it would’ve been a different story.”
Ramsey was trying to get a prep for Whenigettoheaven when he entered in a $56,000 allowance at Laurel on May 29, but he had to abandon his plans when the race was moved to dirt.
Witty, an eight-time stakes winner between turf and dirt, stayed in that allowance and sailed through his 7-year-old debut by 1 1/4 lengths. The 2023 Ben’s Cat winner has not participated in the six-furlong turf sprint since, but he could be the favorite in the field of six Maryland-breds entered for the turf.
“It’s so nice to have one running at the same level year after year,” trainer Elizabeth Merryman said. “You deal with a lot of other horses that aren’t like Witty, and you realize they don’t make very many like him.”
In five starts last year, Witty only finished out of the money once while picking up two stakes victories with his notorious late-closing style.
Tidewater will have to improve after finishing eighth in the McKay Turf Sprint last month, but on his best days, the 6-year-old gelding has come dangerously close to upsetting several Ben’s Cat contenders.
“To say I’m afraid of any horse in this race would be a lie,” trainer T.J. Aguirre Jr. said. “I feel like any given Sunday he can go out there and give it his best and be better than any horse in that race.”
In 2025, Had to Have Him, a 5-year-old gelding trained by John Salzman Jr., traded stakes victories with Whenigettoheaven and came up just short to Witty in the Van Clief. He has not finished better than sixth in similar company this year.
Jameela Stakes
Trainer Hugh McMahon entered a pair of 4-year-old fillies with vastly different turf experience in the $100,000 Jameela Stakes on Saturday. Boujee Bubblez will make her stakes debut at six furlongs after winning three of her last four turf sprints in allowance company, while Malibu Hooch will take on another tough field in her second career turf start.
After starting on dirt and then briefly trying turf routes, Boujee Bubblez cut back to 5 1/2 furlongs in August last year and instantly improved to win a conditioned allowance at Colonial Downs. She has since won two more races and arguably ran the best race of her career in her 4-year-old debut, a second-level allowance at Laurel in April.
“We were running longer for a little bit, thinking that was her niche, but it wasn’t,” McMahon said. “Obviously, she’s a sprinter and she’s excelled sprinting. The owner believes in rest, so we rested her and freshened her up. Brought her back and she gave us a lovely performance right off the bat.”
While her stablemate was figuring out her preferred going last year, Malibu Hooch was in the midst of a 13-month layoff, which finally ended when she switched to turf in May. Short on allowance conditions, McMahon had to enter her in the $100,000 The Very One, where she faded to eighth in a field that has already produced three next-out winners.
“I gave her a workout on the turf and she beat Boujee Bubblez,” McMahon said. “So that was my measurement. The idea was to go in a [third-level allowance] because that’s the condition she has next, but they’ve not gone.”
McMahon said apprentice jockey Yedsit Hazlewood has his choice between the two mounts and is currently leaning toward Boujee Bubblez, which would leave Mychel Sanchez to ride Malibu Hooch. Both horses are owned by SAB Stables.
Boujee Bubblez is one of three last-out allowance winners in the field of eight Maryland-bred fillies and mares, along with the Michael Trombetta-trained mare Big Earn and main-track-only runner Conquerthosewecan.
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