Gulfstream: Henley’s Joy Targets Third Stakes Win in $100,000 Kitten’s Joy

By David Joseph —-

Henley’s Joy; Gulfstream Photo

Team Casse Hopes to Taste Victory in $100,000 Ginger Brew
Turf Sprints Among Five Stakes Worth $450,000 in Purses Jan. 5

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Bloom Racing Stable’s Henley’s Joy, a multiple stakes winner whose only losses have come in graded-stakes, looks to maintain his juvenile form as he makes his sophomore debut in a race named for his sire, Saturday’s $100,000 Kitten’s Joy at Gulfstream Park.

The seventh running of the Kitten’s Joy for 3-year-olds and the eighth renewal of the Ginger Brew for 3-year-old fillies, both at 7 ½ furlongs on the grass, are among five stakes worth $450,000 in purses on an 11-race program that begins at noon.

Highlighting the card is Grade 1-placed Code of Honor’s return in the $100,000 Mucho Macho Man, a one-mile test that kicks off Gulfstream’s series of races for 3-year-olds on dirt leading up to the $1 million Florida Derby (G1) March 31.

Bred by Ken and Sarah Ramsey, who also bred and raced turf champion Kitten’s Joy and have seen him develop into one of racing’s most prolific and successful sires, Henley’s Joy is coming off a dominating 4 ½-length triumph in the one-mile Pulpit Stakes Dec. 8 on the grass at Gulfstream.

It was his third win from five 2018 starts and second stakes victory, following the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Sept. 1 in his second career outing. A July 21 debut winner at Ellis Park, he was second by a nose in his subsequent outing, the Bourbon (G3) at Keeneland.

“He was a colt we were very high on,” trainer Mike Maker said. “We just wanted to let him develop for his first start instead of taking him to Saratoga and let the heavy heads duke it out there. I was just glad that he proved me correct.”

Following the Bourbon, Henley’s Joy found himself in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1), contested over a yielding course Nov. 2, and wound up well back after racing between horses early. He bounced back in the Pulpit to defeat a field that included stakes winner Louder than Bombs and Stirling Drive, who each return in the Kitten’s Joy.

“The last race was another huge effort from him. After that race, he’s pretty sharp,” Maker said. “He was very successful as a 2-year-old and hopefully we can keep the fun rolling in his 3-year-old year.”

Regular rider Tyler Gaffalione will be aboard from outside Post 9 at 120 pounds.

Sandra New’s Louder Than Bombs raced near the back of the pack in the Pulpit, making a strong late run to be third, just a neck out of second. It marked the Violence colt’s return to the turf after finishing sixth in the Street Sense Stakes Nov. 2 on the Breeders’ Cup undercard

“He didn’t run a bad race last time I think he just got a little too far back and had too much to do, but he ran well,” trainer David Fawkes said. “Plus he had the ship back from Kentucky, so with that and the last race I expect him to run better this time.”

Late-running Louder Than Bombs finished fourth behind Kitten’s Joy rival Dakota’s Dude in the Proud Man Stakes Sept. 1 at Gulfstream – his last time racing shorter than one mile – then was a two-length winner of the Armed Forces Stakes four weeks later.

“We have to hope for a lively pace, but you’re more likely to get that going shorter,” Fawkes said. “He’s doing great. He’s cutting back a little but he broke his maiden at the distance so it shouldn’t be an issue.”

Paco Lopez will ride from Post 7 at 120 pounds.

John Oxley’s Moon Colony will make his sixth career start and first in a stakes in the Kitten’s Joy, a race trainer Mark Casse captured last year with Grade 3 winner Flameaway. By champion Uncle Mo out of the Carson City mare Promenade Girl, Moon Colony is a half-brother to Cavorting, a three-time Grade 1 winner of more than $2 million in purses.

Moon Colony won two of five starts at 2, both on grass, capping his season with a two-length triumph in an entry-level optional claiming allowance Nov. 29 on the Fair Grounds turf. He has not sprinted since finishing fourth in a six-furlong maiden special weight Aug. 4 on the dirt at Saratoga, his career debut.

“He’s got a huge pedigree. He seems to have a real liking for the turf. His last start he was a little rank early, settled and then had a real powerful punch. We brought him here to give him a try,” Casse said. “He just won impressively in New Orleans. We brought him to our training center in Ocala and he’s training extremely well. I would expect him to run well.”

Rounding out the field are Bourbon in May, a Gulfstream maiden winner Dec. 1; Dakota’s Dude; Royal Urn, an Oct. 25 winner at Gulfstream Park West in his only previous turf try; Casa Creed, Shazier and Stirling Drive.

Team Casse Hopes to Taste Victory in $100,000 Ginger Brew

Fortunate Girl, beaten a neck in her stakes debut last month, and Mark Casse-trained stablemate What a Beaut, a winner of her lone start as a 2-year-old, are both set to make their sophomore debut in a field of nine for the $100,000 Ginger Brew.

John Oxley’s Fortunate Girl ran five times during a juvenile campaign that saw her break her maiden in her fourth start, a maiden special weight going about 1 1/16 miles Nov. 16 at Fair Grounds. She came back to set the pace in the one-mile Wait a While Dec. 8 on the Gulfstream grass, but was caught by A Bit Special at the wire.

“We’ve always been pretty high on her. It just kind of took her a few starts to get her act together, but I thought when she broke her maiden at Fair Grounds it was pretty impressive,” Casse said. “I thought her last race was big. We brought her up to our training center in Ocala and she’s trained very well since. We look forward to getting her back.”

A $200,000 yearling, Fortunate Girl broke from Post 10 in the Wait a While and was sent to the lead by jockey Jose Ortiz, going in fractions of 48.42 seconds and 1:1229. Ortiz returns to ride from Post 6 in the Ginger Brew. All fillies will carry 116 pounds.

“We drew the outside post that day and it can be a tough spot, so you kind of have to make a decision. You have to either go or drop back and she broke running, so Jose sent her,” Casse said. “But, that’s not indicative of the way she needs to run. I think she’s a little more versatile than that.”

Casse and owner Gary Barber paid $155,000 for What a Beaut, a bay daughter of Beau Choix who didn’t get to the races until Dec. 6, looming in mid-pack before putting in a late drive to capture the maiden special weight Dec. 6, over the same course and distance as the Ginger Brew.

“Normally our horses tend to improve with racing, so this is a big step up for her,” Casse said. “She should improve off of her first start. If she does, that should put her in the thick of it. She’s trained well.”

Paco Lopez, aboard for the maiden triumph, returns to ride from Post 4. She figures to go off far shorter than the 53-1 odds of her debut, where she returned $109.

“I can’t remember the last time I had a horse pay as much as she did to win,” Canadian Hall of Famer Casse said. “She had trained well, and we had paid a lot of money for her. She doesn’t have a whole lot of pedigree but she’s beautiful, hence her name, and honestly I wasn’t shocked that she won. I was more shocked at the price”

Trainer Graham Motion, who won last year’s Ginger Brew with Thewayiam, entered Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and ERJ Racing’s Grade 3-placed Pivottina seeking a second straight victory.

Bred in France, where she began her career last spring, late-running Pivottina debuted running fourth in the one-mile Natalma (G1) Sept. 16 at Woodbine. She was sent to Motion following the race and under consideration for the $1 million Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) Nov. 2, but was excluded from the field.

“We kind of toyed with the idea of running her in the Breeders’ Cup, which she didn’t get in. She actually had shipped to Louisville and everything. We went to Plan B, which was to go to the race in California, and she actually ran very well,” Motion said.

Pivottina went off as the favorite in the one-mile Jimmy Durante (G3) Nov. 24 at Del Mar, racing near the back of an 11-horse field and rallying through the stretch to be third by 2 ¼ lengths, just a head out of second.

“I think she’s going to be better as the distances get further, to be honest. She’s here and she’s doing well, but the one reservation I might have is the distance of the race. She came on pretty strong in her last race at Del Mar,” Motion said. “Aron Wellman of Eclipse has wanted to be very patient with her, and that’s given us plenty of time to get her adjusted.”

Hall of Famer Javier Castellano has the call from Post 1.

Also entered are Beechwood Ella, Boxwood, Noncents, Shoobiedoobydoo, Red Rounder and Bella Ciao, the latter for main track only.

Gulfstream Park is a Stronach Group company, North America’s leading Thoroughbred racetrack owner/operator. The Stronach Group racetracks include Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park & Casino, Golden Gate Fields, Portland Meadows, Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course, home of the world-famous Preakness. The company owns and operates the Palm Meadows Training Center in Florida, and is one of North America’s top race horse breeders through its award-winning Adena Springs operation. The Stronach Group is one of the world’s largest suppliers of pari-mutuel wagering systems, technologies and services. Its companies include AmTote, a global leader in wagering technology; XpressBet, an Internet and telephone account wagering service; and Monarch Content Management, which acts as a simulcast purchase and sales agent of horseracing content for numerous North American racetracks and wagering outlets.