2004 Turf Classic Invitational Stakes

3,824 views · Published 3 July 2018 · 3:02 · Indexed 20 September 2026

Channel: Horse Racing · 2018 · Sports

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Three-year-old Kitten's Joy found older horses and the 1 1/2-mile distance to be non issues when registering an authoritative victory over favored Magistretti in the $750,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational (gr. IT) on a yielding Belmont Park turf course Saturday.

With John Velazquez aboard for the first time for trainer Dale Romans, Kitten's Joy tracked the leaders on the outside while close to the pace throughout. Magistretti, left alone on the front end on the far turn when pacesetting Maktub gave way, tried to kick away at the top of the stretch but could not shake Kitten's Joy.
"He was dominant today," said winning trainer Dale Romans. "He impresses me more and more every race."

The chestnut son of El Prado passed Magistretti near the eigthh pole and cruised to 2 1/2-length win in 2:29 4/5.

"When I hit him, he was like, 'Whoa!' and just took off," Velazquez said. "It was pretty easy. I wish every horse could be like him."

https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/173762/kittens-joy-delights-in-hirsch-turf-classic-bcup-next

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