Stephanie's Kitten, Centre Court meet again in Jenny Wiley Stakes
LEXINGTON, Ky. – From the myriad story lines involving a terrific renewal of the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley Stakes emerges this fun one: Stephanie’s Kitten and Centre Court will face off yet again.
“I don’t mind seeing those red-and-white silks in against me,” said Rusty Arnold, the trainer of Centre Court, in reference to the familiar Ken and Sarah Ramsey colors carried by Stephanie’s Kitten. “That is, as long as they’re behind me.”
Arnold and Ken Ramsey have spent recent days at Keeneland gigging each other about a rivalry that dates to the summer of 2012, when Centre Court won the Grade 2 Lake George Stakes at Saratoga, with Stephanie’s Kitten a close fourth as the favorite. Since then, they’ve met four more times, with Stephanie’s Kitten outrunning Centre Court in three of those.[bc_video_id:320974:]
For this sixth meeting, which comes Saturday within a fascinating context that involves eight other filly-mare turf specialists in the $300,000 Jenny Wiley, Centre Court will have the benefit of a recent race, having won the Grade 2 Honey Fox Stakes at Gulfstream four weeks ago, whereas Stephanie’s Kitten has undergone a trainer change to Chad Brown since having last raced 8 1/2 months ago.
“Ken said we might have an edge, and I told him how horrible that made me feel for him,” Arnold joked.
Stephanie’s Kitten, with John Velazquez to ride, will break from post 2, while Centre Court will have Julien Leparoux back aboard when starting from the far outside in a field of 10. Both 5-year-old mares have been standouts for a sustained period and figure among the major players in this 26th running of the Wiley, a 1 1/16-mile race that directly precedes the Blue Grass Stakes as the 10th of 12 Saturday races (post time is 5:13 p.m. Eastern).
Arnold said he fully believes that Centre Court is “back to 100 percent” after struggling last year with what ultimately was diagnosed as a pulled hind-end muscle.
“We got her back to training after putting her away for four months, and she’s done just fabulous,” he said. “She’s going to have to run huge to be in this one because, top to bottom, this is one tough race.”
Indeed, several of the others step up with strong credentials, including Kitten’s Point, Emotional Kitten, Abaco, and Discreet Marq.
Kitten’s Point just missed nailing Centre Court on the wire in the Honey Fox and seems one big race away from fully belonging with the elite of the division.
Emotional Kitten, a Ramsey homebred racing as a separate wagering interest, ran second in the Grade 2 Santa Ana Handicap at Santa Anita last month in an encouraging return to action.
Abaco came to hand in the fall, winning the Grade 3 Cardinal Handicap at Churchill Downs, and has maintained her form and fitness through the winter at Gulfstream.
Discreet Marq, the winner of the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks last summer, was considered for another Saturday race, the Grade 1 Madison Stakes, before trainer Christophe Clement opted to keep the gray filly on grass.
“She has trained very well this winter at Payson Park, and we are looking forward to a big year,” said Clement, alluding to the filly’s seven recorded workouts at the south Florida training center.
Rounding out the rugged lineup are Class Included, Fitful Skies, Cloud Scapes, and Hard Not to Like.