Ben's Cat getting ready to race at 11
Ben's Cat has rejoined the Laurel Park stable of Hall of Fame trainer King Leatherbury and is scheduled to race this year as an 11-year-old.
Leatherbury said Thursday that Ben's Cat has been in training for about two weeks and has already breezed a slow quarter-mile. Leatherbury said he plans to breeze Ben's Cat "an easy three-eighths of a mile" at Laurel on Saturday, which could be his first timed work of the season.
Ben's Cat, who is owned and was bred by Leatherbury, has won 32 of 60 starts and earned more than $2.6 million since beginning his career as a 4-year-old in 2010.
"I told him I needed a little help with my bills, so he agreed to come back and help me out," Leatherbury joked. "He's another year older, but I don't think he knows that."
Ben's Cat won 2 of 7 starts last season. He started off his campaign in sharp form but wore down as the year progressed. In his last start at 10, he finished last in a field of six in the Maryland Million Sprint. As usual, Leatherbury turned him out on a farm for the winter.
"He looks good, he looks fine," Leatherbury said. "His attitude is great, just like it always is. He's acting the same as when he first stepped on the track."
Maryland doesn’t have any age limitations for racehorses. As long as long as a horse is sound and performing up to standards, he or she is allowed to participate.
"I don't expect him to race at the same level he used to, but we'll let him do what he can," Leatherbury said. "If he starts tailing off, I'll stop on him."
Leatherbury said he hoped to have Ben's Cat ready to race when the Maryland turf season begins in April. Ben's Cat has won the last four runnings of the Jim McKay Turf Sprint, which is run on the Black-Eyed Susan card, a day before the Preakness.
In each of the last two years, Leatherbury has prepped Ben's Cat for the McKay in an overnight race. From 2011 to 2014, Ben's Cat began his season by winning the Mister Diz, a five-furlong turf sprint for Maryland-breds. The race was moved to the summer in 2015, and Ben's Cat won it that year, too.
"We'll get him ready and most likely look for an overnight race," Leatherbury said.