Kitten's Cat slips by Clyde's Image in Kitten's Joy

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Mere seconds after Kitten’s Cat nudged ahead of longshot Clyde’s Image for a narrow victory Saturday in the $100,000 Kitten’s Joy, there was a jubilant Ken Ramsey, nearly tearing down the elastic barrier that separated the Gulfstream Park crowd from the walkway to the winner’s circle.

“I’m going to present the trophy to her,” said Ramsey, pointing to his wife, Sarah. “On my knees.”

Regardless of whether their familiar red and white silks were carried in the race, the Ramseys had been invited by Gulfstream to present the winner’s trophy after the 20th running of the Kitten’s Joy – so actually winning the race, the first of five stakes for 3-year-olds on a 12-race Saturday card, gave them quite a thrill. They bred and own Kitten’s Cat, who was sired by the race’s namesake, their 2004 turf champion and fabulously successful stallion Kitten’s Joy.

Ken Ramsey serenaded his wife – who has been wheelchair-bound since suffering a major stroke in February 2007 – with a couple of lines from “Have I Told You Lately That I Love You” before everyone got a little more serious for photos and the like.

Ridden by Luis Saez and trained by Joe Sharp, Kitten’s Cat had a perfect stalking trip in the one-mile turf race, finally getting the best of the 32-1 front-runner, Clyde’s Image, while rallies from all others proved insufficient. Most notable of those trailing the top two was the third-place finisher, Made You Look, whose emphatic victory over Kitten’s Cat and Clyde’s Image in the Jan. 7 Dania Beach made him the 1-2 favorite in the field of seven 3-year-olds.

Kitten’s Cat returned $17.80 after finishing in 1:36.41 over a firm turf. It was his third victory in six career starts and second in an ungraded stakes, following the Juvenile Turf Sprint on Breeders’ Cup weekend at Santa Anita last November.

The $2 exacta (7-5) paid $264.80, the $1 trifecta (7-5-4) returned $235.70, and the 10-cent superfecta (7-5-4-2) was worth $104.35.

The next race in the Gulfstream series of stakes for 3-year-olds on turf is the Grade 3 Palm Beach on the March 4 Fountain of Youth undercard.