Hop Kat skips to win and may jump into stakes

Shortly after his eight-length debut victory last May at Churchill Downs, Hop Kat was sidelined with an ankle chip, costing him the remainder of his 2-year-old season.

While Hop Kat also missed the first quarter of his 3-year-old season, in actuality he didn’t miss that much at all. His connections hope that Hop Kat’s allowance victory last Sunday at Gulfstream Park may have come at the right time to set himself up for a solid summer campaign.

“I guess for this year, it’s good timing for a comeback,” trainer Eddie Kenneally said.

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Hop Kat returned from an 11-month layoff with a one-length victory in a six-furlong allowance run over a sloppy track. Hop Kat, a son of Stay Thirsty out of the turf-stakes-winning mare Granny Mc’s Kitten, had developed a chip in his ankle in his first work back following his debut win.

“Very disappointing,” Kenneally said. “We felt like he was the top 2-year-old at Churchill last year at the spring meet. He ran an awesome race first time out. It looked like he was going to have a big 2-year-old year.”

In Sunday’s allowance win, Hop Kat stalked the pace from the inside before tipping outside and persevering past the pacsetting Jake Rocks. He covered six furlongs in 1:10.71 and earned an 80 Beyer Speed Figure.

“He’s very light on his feet, an athletic horse,” Kenneally said. “I never breeze in the mud but I knew he’d run well in the mud. He came out of it perfectly, and I thought beat some nice horses.”

With the news that Kentucky racing is expected to return at the end of May, Kenneally will anxiously await a stakes schedule from Churchill Downs.

“At some point, he’ll be running in a graded stakes when the right one comes up,” Kenneally said. “I’d say he’s probably a one-turn horse.”