Ben's Cat
| Ben's Cat | |
|---|---|
Ben's Cat winning the 2016 Jim McKay Turf Sprint in a photo finish
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| Sire | Parker's Storm Cat |
| Grandsire | Storm Cat |
| Dam | Twofox |
| Damsire | Thirty Eight Paces |
| Sex | Gelding |
| Foaled | April 17, 2006 in Maryland |
| Died | July 18, 2017 (aged 11) in Kentucky |
| Country | United States |
| Colour | Dark bay |
| Breeder | K. T. Leatherbury Associates Inc. |
| Owner | The Jim Stable |
| Trainer | King T. Leatherbury |
| Record | 63: 32-9-7 |
| Earnings | $2,643,782 |
| Major wins | |
|
Mister Diz Stakes (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015) Maryland Million Turf Sprint Handicap (2010, 2011, 2012) Jim McKay Turf Sprint (2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016) Turf Monster Handicap (2011, 2012) Fabulous Strike Handicap (2012, 2013, 2014) Parx Dash Handicap (2012, 2013, 2014) |
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Ben's Cat (April 17, 2006 – July 18, 2017) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won multiple stakes races, including six victories in the Mister Diz Stakes and five in the Jim McKay Turf Sprint. He was a four-time Maryland-bred horse of the year. He was retired in June 2017 with a record of 32 wins from 63 starts and earnings of over $2.6 million. He died on July 18, 2017, due to complications related to colic surgery.
Ben's Cat was bred by King T. Leatherbury, who was also the nearly black gelding's owner and trainer. Ben's Cat was sired by Parker's Storm Cat, whose only win was a five-furlong sprint on the turf. Parker's Storm Cat was well bred, however, being by leading sire Storm Cat. Ben's Cat's dam, Twofox, was a stakes-placed mare by Thirty Eight Paces, a stakes winning stallion also trained by Leatherbury.
Although Leatherbury is one of the winningest trainers in American racing history, his stable had shrunk to just fourteen horses by the time Ben's Cat came along. In part because of Ben's Cat success, Leatherbury was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015 at the age of 82.
Ben's Cat suffered a broken pelvis at age two and spent nearly a year recovering, not making his first start until age four. On May 8, 2010, he won in his first start at Pimlico racetrack in a maiden claiming race, where he could have been purchased for $20,000. He won his second start on June 14 at Delaware Park, where he could have been claimed for $25,000. "Each time he ran, he got better," said Leatherbury. "I'm lucky I didn't lose him in that second claimer. Looking back now, I'd be sick if I had lost him."
Ben's Cat then went on a win streak, including his first stakes win on August 21 in the Mister Diz Stakes at Laurel Park. He gained a reputation as a talented "freak" who specialized in photo finish victories. On October 2, he won the Maryland Million Turf Sprint Handicap for the first time, followed by a win in the Find Handicap at a distance of 1 1⁄8 miles. His only loss in his four-year-old campaign came in the Forty Niner Stakes at Aqueduct on December 19. He was named the Maryland-bred champion sprinter and turf runner.
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