Ben’s Cat makes 2015 debut in Friday allowance

The Friday card at Pimlico will get off to an interesting start as fan favorite Ben’s Cat will make his 9-year-old debut in the second race, a no-conditions, five-furlong turf sprint with a $55,000 purse.

Trained by King Leatherbury, Ben’s Cat ended 2014 on a high note, turning in what may have been his strongest performance of the year to win the $200,000 Fabulous Strike Handicap at Penn National in late November. He concluded the season with an 8-4-2-1 record and $458,000 in earnings.

Ben’s Cat’s performance in the Fabulous Strike, a six-furlong, main-track race, hinted that at this stage of his career, he might be just as good on dirt as turf. With a 90 percent chance of rain forecast for the Baltimore area Friday morning, that could come in handy.

“I don’t know if we’ll have turf or not because of the rain, but it won’t matter to him,” said Leatherbury, who recently turned 82.

Leatherbury followed his usual schedule with Ben’s Cat after the Fabulous Strike, turning him out on a farm and bringing him back to the track in late February. Ben’s Cat has had four workouts since March 17.

“He’s probably one work away from where I really would like him,” Leatherbury said. “But he’ll be fine.”

For the last four years, Ben’s Cat has won the Mister Diz Stakes, a turf sprint for Maryland-breds, in his seasonal debut. That option doesn’t exist this year as Laurel will race in August for the first time since 2010, and the Mister Diz has been shifted to that meet. In August 2010, Ben’s Cat scored his first of five straight Mister Diz victories at Laurel.

“That race was always an easy spot for us because it was Maryland-bred,” Leatherbury said. “He never ran his best race in it, but he would win, and it would get him ready for the next one.”

Following Friday’s race, Leatherbury will point Ben’s Cat to the $100,000 Jim McKay Turf Sprint on the Black-Eyed Susan card, the day before the Preakness. Ben’s Cat has won the McKay three times – in 2011, 2013, and 2014.

Ben’s Cat, a winner of 28 of 45 starts and $2.3 million, was named Maryland-bred Horse of the Year in 2014 for the fourth time since he debuted as a 4-year-old in 2010. He also was named top older male, sprinter, and turf horse. Over the years, he has won 13 divisional titles in addition to Horse of the Year.

Leatherbury is fourth on the all-time wins list for trainers with 6,454 victories and is a finalist for induction into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame this year. The inductees will be announced Monday.

Friday’s race is not an easy return spot for Ben’s Cat, as Bold Thunder also is entered. Bold Thunder, based at Parx Racing with trainer Patricia Farro, is exceedingly fast, and there doesn’t appear to be much other early speed in the nine-horse field.

Six stakes set for Saturday

Saturday is a big stakes day in the Mid-Atlantic. In addition to the $1.5 million Charles Town Classic and its six supporting stakes, Pimlico has six stakes of its own planned. With the Charles Town Classic card moved to the afternoon this year, the two tracks will go head to head.

The Pimlico stakes are the Federico Tesio for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles; the Primonetta at six furlongs for fillies and mares; the Stormy Blues, a five-furlong turf sprint for 3-year-old fillies; the Geisha at five furlongs on the grass for fillies and mares; and two one-mile turf stakes, the Henry S. Clark for males and the Dahlia for fillies and mares.

The Geisha is worth $75,000, and the others are $100,000 each.