Churchill Downs: Ramseys blanked at Breeders' Cup

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A few days after getting nada at the Breeders’ Cup, Ken Ramsey was still licking his wounds at his farm just outside of Lexington.

“It was kind of what like Caesar said over there in Rome,” said Ramsey. “‘Veni, vidi, non-vici – I came, I saw, and I got my ass kicked.”

Ramsey and his wife, Sarah, had more starters than any other owners on the two-day Breeders’ Cup program at Santa Anita last weekend, and the best any of their six horses could muster was a third-place finish by heavily favored Bobby’s Kitten in the Juvenile Turf.

“If you’re afraid to fail, you shouldn’t be in the horse business,” said Ramsey. “We didn’t think we sent any horse out there that didn’t belong. You’ve got to give credit to the Europeans, who had a great Breeders’ Cup, and folks like Bob Baffert, who won a couple races.”

Ramsey said he and his family had a wonderful time in California and that he was “treated like a king,” but nothing replaces the thrill of victory.

“It was very disappointing,” he said. “The one race we really thought we’d get was with Bobby’s Kitten,” the 6-5 favorite who led most of the way Friday in the Juvenile Turf before tiring on fast fractions. “I had 24 people out there with me and I got everybody a $100 win ticket on him and had him tied up seven ways to Sunday. I got hammered at the windows, but sometimes that’s just the way it goes.”

Despite the setbacks, Ramsey is hopeful he and his wife have accomplished enough this year to earn their third Eclipse Award as outstanding owner, following victories in 2004 and 2011. Into Wednesday, their horses had won 196 races and earned nearly $11.3 million in 2013, with the earnings total being almost double their closest pursuer (Midwest Thoroughbreds, $6.3 million) atop the North American standings.

“That’s up to the voters, but they usually go for your overall body of work,” said Ramsey. “A lot of the Eastern boys kind of stubbed their toes at the Breeders’ Cup, too, so it wasn’t like we were the Lone Ranger.”

Suns Out Guns Out has stakes options

Trainer Dale Romans said his Breeders’ Cup contingent returned in good shape and that he is considering future plans for them.

Little Mike, seventh in the BC Turf, will remain in training and will head to Florida for the winter, with a race still to be determined.

Silver Max, fourth in the BC Mile, will be given time off in Ocala, Fla., and be pointed to a spring campaign.

Suns Out Guns Out, second in the BC Marathon, could shorten up in either the Hawthorne Gold Cup or the Clark Handicap later this month at Churchill.

Cleburne, scratched from the BC Juvenile with a sore shin, will be given a brief rest before gearing up for a run at the spring classics, along with his Donegal Racing stablemate, Smart Cover. The colts ran 1-2 in the Iroquois Stakes at Churchill in early September.

Dickey’s Winnipeg connection still active

It’s not often that a horse from Assiniboia Downs in Winnipeg in western Canada shows up in the Churchill entries, but that will be the case Friday when a gray filly named Magical Powder runs in the first race.

Her presence is the result of a friendship of more than 40 years between Gary Danelson and Scooter Dickey.

“Gary and I trained together in Winnipeg in 1970-71,” said Dickey. “The summer of 1970, we shipped 14 horses to Blue Bonnets in Montreal – eight by train, and the other six in a horse trailer. The next summer we shipped to Green Mountain in Vermont.”

Dickey said last winter Danelson asked him to claim Magical Powder at Gulfstream Park on behalf of North Dakota brothers Al and Ken Johnson, and a few months later Dickey sent the filly to Danelson at Assiniboia.

Grade 1 winner runs Friday

King David, winner of the Grade 1 Jamaica last fall at Belmont Park, will make his second start following a layoff in the secondary feature Friday at Churchill, a $47,000, third-level allowance scheduled for a mile on turf as race 9.

King David, trained by Mike Maker, won a turf allowance on closing day of the September meet at Churchill.

“We’re glad to have him back and a race under his belt,” said Maker.

Cardinal looks competitive

Solid Appeal and Somali Lemonade will be the starting co-highweights with 119 pounds apiece among a field of 10 fillies and mares entered in the lone stakes this week at Churchill, the Grade 3, $100,000 Cardinal Handicap on Saturday. Miz Ida and Starstruck (118 each) also are among those in a competitive 40th running of the 1 1/8-mile turf race.