Kitten's Covergirl can complete ascension from claiming ranks in Riskaverse Stakes

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – A $40,000 investment earlier this season has already blossomed into a nifty profit for owner Robert Amendola and trainer Patrick Reynolds, who plucked Kitten’s Covergirl out of the claiming ranks in May for a bargain price and have already been rewarded with a pair of wins.

Amendola and Reynolds will try to add another $55,000 to Kitten’s Covergirl’s steadily growing bankroll when she takes on nine rivals Thursday at Saratoga in the $100,000 Riskaverse. The Riskaverse is carded for 3-year-old fillies who have never won a stakes at a mile or longer and is scheduled to be decided at one mile on turf.

Kitten’s Covergirl set the pace and finished second, beaten a neck, when taken by her current connections for $40,000 on May 11 at Belmont Park. She has successfully stretched out in distance in her two starts since joining Reynolds stable, winning a $50,000 starter-allowance dash going seven furlongs June 15 before returning less than three weeks later to capture a second-level optional-claiming race at a mile.

“I have to give my owner the credit for picking her out,” Reynolds said. “He did the work-up on her with the numbers. I took a look, and she passed the test physically, so we took her. She got beat that day, but it seemed if she could learn some rating tactics we might be on to something. She was in great shape when we got her, we taught her to rate a little bit, and it’s turned out well so far.”

Reynolds said he discussed the options with his owner, and they decided to keep her with straight 3-year-olds in the Riskaverse.

“Obviously, the water gets a little deeper,” Reynolds said. “But we’re in against our own kind and she’s already been the distance successfully, albeit around one turn, although I don’t think two turns should be any problem for her.”

From a class standpoint, Goodthingstaketime is the one to beat in the Riskaverse. She has run well while also being a source of some frustration for her connections since coming to the United States from Ireland for her 3-year-old campaign, having been stakes placed in all four starts this year against some stellar competition but without a victory.

Trained by Jorge Abreu, Goodthingstaketime has chased home some of the top members of her division, including Rushing Fall when third in the Grade 2 Appalachian; Got Stormy in the Penn Oaks; and most recently Daddy Is a Legend while finishing third in the Grade 3 Lake George here.

As is the case in the majority of turf stakes here this summer, trainer Chad Brown will be well represented, with both Tapit Today and Punked among the key players.

Tapit Today brings a two-race winning streak into the Riskaverse, albeit against perhaps slightly lesser competition at Monmouth Park. She drew off to a pair of one-sided victories there in July. Punked finished second in the Wild Applause, also at a mile, earlier this summer at Belmont.

The red-hot Jimmy Jerkens barn will counter with the up-and-coming Sweet Sting, who was third in the Memories of Silver at Aqueduct in April and second against older allowance rivals June 30 at Belmont.