Ben's Cat seeks one last score in Mister Diz Stakes
Finally, at age 11, the bloom has come off Ben’s Cat. The amazing gelding lost a step last year and appears to have lost another this season, but he is not without a chance in the $75,000 Mister Diz Stakes, one of two Maryland-bred turf-sprint stakes on Saturday at Laurel Park.
Success in the Mister Diz? Ben’s Cat knows plenty about that. He won this race six years in a row from 2010-15 before finishing third in the 2016 renewal. Neither of the two horses who beat him a year ago is racing again Saturday, and the “fastest” horses in the Mister Diz prefer two turns to one.
So far this year, Ben’s Cat has finished fifth in an allowance race and eighth in the Jim McKay Turf Sprint, but he was beaten less than a length in that 2017 debut and less than four lengths in the Jim McKay, that after getting buried in a 14-horse field.
“He didn’t get beat by much, but he didn’t get anything, and that’s the main thing. We always have little excuses,” said King Leatherbury, who bred, owns, and trains Ben’s Cat. “When you win, you don’t even think about excuses. When you get beat – and I’m not an excuse man – there’s something like the rider commenting on him handling the surface. He didn’t seem to be getting over it really well last time, but like I say, that’s an excuse. You can only make excuses for so long, and you have to face reality.”
Phlash Phelps is the 3-1 morning-line favorite in the Mister Diz, but he hasn’t raced since Nov. 19 and has not sprinted since a maiden win more than two years ago. In fact, Ben’s Cat’s 10 rivals Saturday have combined to win exactly zero races going 5 1/2 furlongs on turf. If Ben’s Cat is going to have one last hurrah, the Mister Diz, a race he has owned, might be it.
◗ Loveable Lady and Everything Lovely finished first and second in the 2016 Jameela Stakes, and those two look like the main contenders again in the 2017 renewal on Saturday. Everything Lovely is easily the more established turf sprinter of the pair, but her ideal trip is something around five furlongs, and Loveable Lady, making only her second start on turf, ran her down just before the finish last year.
