Big Blue Kitten back on game for Red Smith
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – A multiple Grade 1 stakes winner in 2013, Big Blue Kitten will attempt to win his first graded stakes of 2014 in Saturday’s Grade 3, $250,000 Red Smith Handicap at Aqueduct, the last scheduled turf stakes of the year on this circuit.
Eleven were entered in the Red Smith, including three from trainer Todd Pletcher. However, Pletcher said Thursday that he may scratch Red Rifle and point him to the Hawthorne Gold Cup. Pletcher would still have Micromanage and Unitarian to run.
After winning four of eight starts last year – including the Grade 1 United Nations and Grade 1 Sword Dancer – Big Blue Kitten got off to a late start this year, his 6-year-old season. He won the Lure Stakes, a restricted 1 1/16-mile event at Saratoga on Aug. 2, before finishing second 22 days later in the Grade 3 Cliff Hanger at Monmouth Park.
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His two most recent starts also came 22 days apart, with a fourth-place finish behind Main Sequence in the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic followed by a three-quarter-length loss to Hillstar in the Grade 1 Canadian International at Woodbine. Main Sequence went on to win the Breeders’ Cup Turf, his fourth Grade 1 win in as many tries this year. Hillstar, making his U.S. debut, was coming off a Group 3 win in Newbury.
Trainer Chad Brown said he was pleased with the ride Joel Rosario gave Big Blue Kitten in the Canadian International.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 4 Big Blue Kitten. Trainer Chad Brown is 31-8-6-5 with a $2.79 ROI over the past two years in turf route graded stakes of 10 furlongs and longer. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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“He made a nice run and just missed,” Brown said. “I was real proud of his effort. We were between that race and the Breeders’ Cup Turf, and I think we made the smart choice.”
Rosario will be back aboard Big Blue Kitten, the 123-pound highweight, from post 4.
Dynamic Sky finished two lengths behind Big Blue Kitten when finishing third in the International, and he also returns in the Red Smith. He was carried out a path by Big Blue Kitten in the stretch.
“Big Blue Kitten got us pretty good turning for home,” trainer Mark Casse said. “I think there could have been an inquiry. There wasn’t.”
key contenders
Big Blue Kitten (Last 3 Beyers: 103-100-101)
◗ His five triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures on turf are four more than the rest of the field combined.
◗ The biggest hurdle to him winning could be a lack of pace in the field.
Legendary (Last 3 Beyers: 103-99-99)
◗ He has won four of five starts, including the Grade 3 Knickerbocker, in which he earned a career-best 103 Beyer.
◗ He won two 1 1/4-mile allowance races at Belmont in the spring, but trainer Niall Saville prefers to keep him racing shorter.
◗ Saville said the key to success for this gelding has been getting him to relax.
“The reason we’re here is he’s doing so well,” Saville said. “This is a nice race for him without shipping around the country. It’s not the ideal distance, but he can stay as long as he relaxes.”
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 8 Legendary. Trainer Niall Saville is 17-5-0-3 with a $3.51 ROI over the past year in turf routes on the NYRA circuit. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
Micromanage (Last 3 Beyers: 99-89-89)
◗ After being eased in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, he tried turf and was beaten just a neck after setting the pace in the Bowl Game Stakes.
◗ If trainer Pletcher, elects to scratch Red Rifle, Micromanage could become the primary speed, and he gets in light at 116 pounds. Pletcher said if Micromanage is able to get to the front and set modest fractions, it “would suit his grinding style.”
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 11 Manighar. Trainer Graham Motion is 33-9-5-4 with a $3.11 ROI over the past five years in turf routes following a trainer switch and a layoff of 180 days or more. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan