Sam Houston: Admiral Kitten up in time in Connally Turf Cup

Despite a dawdling pace and a less-than-optimal distance for him, Admiral Kitten found the inner fortitude to get up for a neck win over Fredericksburg in Saturday night’s Grade 3, $200,000 Connally Turf Cup at Sam Houston Race Park. The victory reversed a tough loss in his last start, when he was second as the favorite in the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby.

“He put in his usual late kick, and we were on the winning end this time,” said Mike Maker, who trains Admiral Kitten for his breeders, Ken and Sarah Ramsey.

The Connally was one of four stakes on the richest program of the Sam Houston meet. The card was led by the $400,000 Houston Ladies Classic, won by Rose to Gold. Together, the four races were worth $725,000.

Admiral Kitten ($3.80) had just one horse beaten in the early stages of the 1 1/8-mile Connally as Fredericksburg got away with fractions of 25.70 seconds for the opening quarter, 50.70 for the first half-mile, and 1:14.67 for six furlongs. Admiral Kitten worked his way off the rail under jockey Julien Leparoux, angled out in the stretch, and closed with determination to cover the distance on firm ground in 1:49.80.

Maker said plans for Admiral Kitten are to be determined, but he expects the horse to be at his best this year at distances of 1 1/4 miles and 1 1/2 miles.

“We’ll take a couple of days and mull things over,” Maker said.

Maker said Admiral Kitten would ship to Fair Grounds in New Orleans, have a one-day layover, then head back to Gulfstream Park. He earned $117,600 in the Connally, his fourth career victory from 11 starts. Admiral Kitten, a 4-year-old by Kitten’s Joy, has earned $726,680.

Fredericksburg held second by a half-length over Vertiformer, and it was another 1 1/4 lengths back to King David in fourth. Admiral Kitten and King David are Grade 1 winners, and their presence in Saturday night’s race helped make for one of the strongest runnings of the Connally.

Course record for Sum of the Parts

Sum of the Parts set a course record for five furlongs on turf at Sam Houston when he won the $75,000 Champion Energy Services in 56.21 seconds. He won by three-quarters of a length over Artest, while Force Freeze, making his first start in two years, was sixth.

Sum of the Parts ($3.20) dueled with Bounding Bi through fractions of 21.56 and 44.11 before going on to win under jockey Rosie Napravnik. It was the second straight stakes win for the horse, following the $75,000 Bonapaw at Fair Grounds. Tom Amoss trains him for Klaravich Stables and William H. Lawrence.

• F J Uncle Vic ($5.80) rolled to a 9 1/4-length win over 4-5 favorite Kowboy Boots in the $50,000 Allen’s Landing, the first of the four stakes on the card. It was another nine lengths back to Awesome J T in third. F J Uncle Vic finished the seven-furlong race for 3-year-olds in 1:24.04. Ernesto Valdez-Jiminez was aboard for owners Johnny B. Evans and Terry Eoff. Eoff also trains F J Uncle Vic.