Multiple Graded Winner Ben’s Cat Tops ‘Class on the Grass’ Nominations
Multiple Graded Winner Ben’s Cat Tops ‘Class on the Grass’ Nominations
Six Turf Stakes Worth $450,000 in Purses Saturday, June 24 at Laurel
LAUREL, MD – Ben’s Cat is one of 145 horses nominated to six turf stakes worth $450,000 as part of Laurel Park’s ‘Class on the Grass’ program Saturday, June 24.
The six $75,000 stakes over Laurel’s world-class turf course mark the busiest and richest of seven stakes Saturdays during the 33-day summer meet. Maryland-bred/sired horses will contest the six-furlong Mister Diz and Jameela, while the one-mile Edward Evans and Nellie Mae Cox and 5 ½-furlong White Oak Farm and M. Tyson Gilpin are for Virginia-bred/sired horses.
Bred, owned and trained by Hall of Fame horseman King Leatherbury, Ben’s Cat had a string of six consecutive victories in the Mister Diz snapped when third behind John Jones last summer. The 11-year-old gelding has won 32 races, 26 in stakes including four Grade 3s, and more than $2.6 million in purses from 62 lifetime starts. He is in the midst of a seven-race losing streak, the longest of his career, the most recent coming May 19 in the Jim McKay Turf Sprint, a race he had won five of the previous six years including four straight.
Also among the 24 Mister Diz nominees are Hillwood Stable’s Phlash Phelps, back-to-back winner of the Maryland Million Turf in 2015-16 yet to make his 6-year-old debut; and stakes winners Corvus, Eyeplayeveryday and Talk Show Man.
The Edward Evans attracted the most nominations with 31 led by Tom Thurman’s Valid and defending champion Rose Brier, a four-time stakes winner at Laurel. Valid owns 12 wins, four graded-stakes wins and more than $1.1 million in purse earnings from 39 career starts. He returned from more than a year layoff to run ninth as the favorite in the Dowd Mile April 15, becoming the first millionaire to compete at Nebraska’s Fonner Park. In his subsequent start June 10 he was second in an open allowance at Arapahoe in Aurora, Colo.
Rose Brier, trained by Jane Cibelli for Panic Stable, set a Kelso turf course one-mile record winning the Henry S. Clark last spring two starts before his victory in the Edward Evans, which was run at 1 1/16 miles in 2016. Winless in three starts this year, the 8-year-old gelding’s Laurel wins include the Bert Allen against Virginia-breds the past three years.
Trainer Mary Eppler’s multiple stakes winner Lovable Lady is another of four defending champions to return on the ‘Class on the Grass’ card, topping 21 horses nominated to the Jameela. The 6-year-old mare was fifth most recently in the six-furlong Skipat May 19 at Pimlico, just the third time she was worse than third from 20 lifetime starts.
Rockin Jojo, who beat Lovable Lady in the Maryland Million Distaff and Geisha last fall at Laurel; stakes winners Everything Lovely, second in the 2016 Jameela, Devilish Love and Look Who’s Talking are also nominated.
Two Notch Road and Available, first and third, respectively, last year return among 22 nominees in the White Oak Farm for 3-year-olds and up, while the Nellie Mae Cox also drew 22 nominations including defending champion Queen Caroline and runner-up Secret Or Not.
Rounding out the stakes action is the M. Tyson Gilpin for females 3 and up which attracted 25 nominations led by Rapid Rhythm, who counts the Oakley last fall at Laurel against Virginia-bred/sired horses among her multiple stakes wins.
