Ramsey Says He's Intent on Standing Kitten's Joy in Europe

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Saying that he's unhappy with the prices paid for the offspring of Kitten's Joy (El Prado {Ire}) at the Keeneland September sale, owner Ken Ramsey said Thursday he is in the process of making plans that will lead to his star sire standing next year in Europe and finishing out his stallion career overseas. Ramsey said he believed that Kitten's Joy, who is known primarily for producing top-class turf horses, will fare better on a continent where the vast majority of the races are run on the grass.

Ramsey told the Thoroughbred Daily News that he is in the process of finding a European breeding farm to go in with him as a partner, and if the right deal can be struck, Kitten's Joy will soon be on his way across the Atlantic.

“You don't know how determined a fellow I can be, and this is what I want to do,” he said. “When I get it in my head to do something, I get it accomplished. I think there's a 90% chance that we'll be able to strike a good deal with someone over there and that he will be sent to Europe.”

Twenty-eight Kitten's Joys have sold at Keeneland for a gross of $3,205,000 and an average of $114,464. In 2017, his yearlings are averaging $113,305, according to TDN Sales Statistics, well below other sires in his stud fee range, he pointed out.

“He is the most underappreciated sire in North America,” Ramsey said. “I am disgusted at what those horses sold for at Keeneland. He is the number-one living sire in North America, yet people here just aren't interested in buying his yearlings. All the good ones are being bought by Europeans as it is, so that's another reason to send him over there. I understand why. People here with the Grade I-winning mares want to breed to Tapit and the top commercial dirt sires. And those are the horses people are willing to pay the big money for.

“For him, it's time for a fresh start and a new chapter in his career,” he said. “He's peaked over here. It's time to try something new.”

Ramsey said he had resisted sending Kitten's Joy to Europe in the past because he is “a family pet.” He said he would insist that any farm standing him in Europe does not shuttle him to the Southern Hemisphere and that he be returned to Ramsey Farm once retired as a stallion.

“I know money is what makes the world go around, but I'm not going to do this for the money,” he said. “I want to do it for the horse because he deserves a fair chance to show what he can really do as a stallion. I think over there people with the very best mares will be eager to breed to him.”

Currently standing at Ramsey Farm in Nicholasville, Kentucky, Kitten's Joy's stud fee is $100,000. Ramsey said he believed it should be lowered if he is moved to Europe, saying he felt something in the area of $70,000 in local currency would be a good fit.

“I think at that price, he can get a full book of quality mares,” he said. “If someone over there tells me they think he should stand for more money, I will listen.”

Though Kitten's Joy traditionally has had large books, producing 173 reported live foals in 2017, Ramsey pointed out that he owns many of the mares that are bred to Kitten's Joy, which limits the income he receives for standing him at stud.

Kitten's Joy, who is 16, is the leading active sire in North America, as well as the number one turf sire, according to TDN Sire Lists. With nine crops to race, Kitten's Joy has had three champions, 11 Grade I winners, and his progeny have earned in excess of $73 million.

 

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