Kitten's Cat favored among dozen in Spiral

Mar 22, 2017 Vance Hanson/Brisnet.com

Owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey have won two of the last three runnings of the $500,000 Spiral (G3) at Turfway Park, and will seek to win their fourth overall with morning-line favorite Kitten's Cat when the 1 1/8-mile Kentucky Derby (G1) prep is renewed Saturday.

Contested on Polytrack and won in 2011 by eventual Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom, the Spiral awards Derby qualifying points of 50-20-10-5 to the top four finishers.

Kitten's Cat has raced exclusively on turf for the Ramseys and trainer Joe Sharp, winning three of seven starts. His signature wins thus far have come in the $100,000 Kitten's Joy (named for his sire) at Gulfstream and the $101,000 Juvenile Turf Sprint at Santa Anita last fall on the Breeders' Cup undercard. The colt enters off a second in the Palm Beach (G3), also at Gulfstream.

Others bringing in positive turf form, which often translates into success on a synthetic surface like Polytrack, is Soglio. Trained by Graham Motion, who conditioned Animal Kingdom, Soglio was a close second in the $80,000 Eddie Logan at Santa Anita in late December, but was only third as the odds-on choice against allowance foes in his follow-up over the same course.

Parlor, who's won two of three starts, the lone loss being a narrow one in a stakes at Kentucky Downs, enters off a sharp allowance win on the Tampa Bay Downs turf, while Fast and Accurate was last seen taking a starter stakes on the turf at Gulfstream for Mike Maker.

Fast and Accurate broke his maiden over the Turfway oval, and stablemate En Hanse also has winning form at the Northern Kentucky track having captured the $50,000 WEBN in February. Last time, the gray son of Hansen was a distant second in the $97,000 John Battaglia Memorial.

Others with appealing form on synthetic include multiple Woodbine stakes winner King and His Court, $100,000 OBS Championship runner-up Convict Pike, and California invader Colonel Samsen.

A total field of 12 was entered for the Spiral, which can be viewed and wagered on at TwinSpires.com.

(Adam Coglianese Photography)