Kitten’s Dumplings may be set to fire in Little Miss Magic
Kitten’s Dumplings ran like a horse sitting on a big race when she finished a close fifth Sept. 19 in the $150,000 One Dreamer at Kentucky Downs. If she is, the Grade 1 winner will be a handful Saturday in the $75,000 Little Miss Magic at Gulfstream Park West. The 1 1/8-mile turf route for fillies and mares drew eight horses and goes as race 5 at 3:27 p.m. Eastern.
Trained by Mike Maker, Kitten’s Dumplings won the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland as a 3-year-old in 2013 but went on a long hiatus after going unplaced in her next start in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Santa Anita.
She didn’t fire in her first race back, finishing 10th on Jan. 17 in the Marie G. Krantz Memorial Handicap at Fair Grounds. She now appears to be coming around. She went into her last race off a runner-up finish July 18 in the $103,000 Indiana General Assembly Distaff at Indiana Grand, and she made a strong move while going seven wide in the mile-and-70-yard One Dreamer before flattening out late.
Maker said he likes the way she is coming into the race.
“[The One Dreamer] was a good race for her,” he said. “She is doing really well right now, and we are looking forward to seeing her run on Saturday.”
Kitten’s Dumplings showed her readiness with a bullet four-furlong move in 47 seconds on Oct. 19 at Keeneland. She will break from post 6 with Rafael Hernandez aboard.
Lori’s Store looks like the main threat. Trained by Marty Wolfson, she won back-to-back $75,000 stakes races at Gulfstream Park before finishing seventh Sept. 19 in the $289,200 Fasig-Tipton Ladies Turf at Kentucky Downs.
Key contenders
Kitten’s Dumplings (Last 3 Beyers: 86-89-81)
* With wins going 1 1/8 miles in the Grade 2 Lake George at Saratoga and the Grade 3 Regret at Churchill Downs, the 5-year-old homebred daughter of Kitten’s Joy thrives at this distance.
Lori’s Store (Last 3 Beyers: 81-89-90)
* On a roll before her loss on the tricky Kentucky Downs turf course, the 5-year-old daughter of El Prado also should appreciate the shape of the race.
Prayed For (Last 3 Beyers: 90-41-32)
* She ran a huge race in winning the $75,000 Panama City at Gulfstream in her second start for Wolfson.