Kitten's Joy

In Moment of 2020, the staff of TDN Europe reflect on their favourite moments in racing for the year. Future Classic winner Kameko (Kitten's Joy) first came on my radar with his nose second in the G3 Solario S. in August of 2019 after winning on debut at Sandown in July. I especially noticed the flashy dark bay because he bore the same Qatar Racing silks as another favourite of mine, the late Cartier Horse of the Year Roaring Lion, also a Kentucky-bred incidentally by Kitten's Joy. A $90,000 Keeneland...

Scott Heider's G3 Gallinule S. winner Crossfirehurricane (Kitten's Joy) will travel to America this weekend, where he will be trained as a 4-year-old in 2021 by Mike McCarthy in California. Bred by Heider in partnership with Craig Bernick's Glen Hill Farm, Crossfirehurricane was shipped to Ireland to join trainer Joseph O'Brien. He broke his maiden in his lone start at two and won a conditions race and the Listed Patton S. in February going seven furlongs and a mile both at Dundalk before stepping up to 2000 metres to win...

Kameko (Kitten's Joy-Sweeter Still {Ire}, by Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}), who won this year's G1 2000 Guineas in race record time, will stand for £25,000 at Tweenhills Stud next year. In addition to the Guineas, Kameko won the G1 Vertem Futurity Trophy at two and the G2 Joel S. on Sept. 25 against elders. He was fourth this summer in the G1 Epsom Derby, G1 Sussex S. and G1 Juddmonte International. "It was hugely exciting to have Kameko arrive at Tweenhills last night and after a gruelling 40-hour journey from...

This year's G1 2000 Guineas scorer Kameko (Kitten's Joy) will retire to Tweenhills Stud upon conclusion of his 3-year-old campaign this year. In addition to the 2000 Guineas, Kameko won last year's G1 Vertem Futurity Trophy. He was fourth in three consecutive Group 1s this summer before besting older horses in the G2 Joel S. and is set to run in the Breeders' Cup. Sheikh Fahad Al-Thani, chairman of Qatar Racing, said, "My brothers and I are delighted to own another superstar in Kameko, whose record-breaking 2- and 3-year-old campaigns...

Hall of Famer Curlin (Smart Strike) once again leads the 2021 roster at Hill 'n' Dale, which recently moved to their new Xalapa property outside of Paris. The leading stallion's 2021 fee remains unchanged at $175,000 LFS&N. "We are aware of the pressures on the market due to the uncertain climate we find ourselves in. Hill 'n' Dale will once again look to be an industry leader by offering exceptional value in its entire roster. We are all in this together and together we will grow stronger as an industry,"...

A caravan of four massive Sallee Horse Vans journeyed from Fayette County to Bourbon County today to deliver the 13 members of the Hill 'n' Dale stallion roster to their new residence: Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa. While Hill 'n' Dale President John Sikura said there was apprehension going into the big move, everything went smoothly. "It's kind of like when a horse goes in the starting gate--lots can go wrong," he said. "But thanks to the quality and class of the horses and the horsemanship of everybody who was...

A caravan of four massive Sallee Horse Vans journeyed from Fayette County to Bourbon County today to deliver the 13 members of the Hill 'n' Dale stallion roster to their new residence: Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa. While Hill 'n' Dale President John Sikura said there was apprehension going into the big move, everything went smoothly. "It's kind of like when a horse goes in the starting gate- lots can go wrong," he said. "But thanks to the quality and class of the horses and the horsemanship of everybody who...

Saddled with a five-pound penalty as a result of his G1 2000 Guineas triumph, Qatar Racing's Kameko (Kitten's Joy) proved himself one of the better winners of that Classic in recent times when overcoming the extra burden to take the G2 Shadwell Joel S. over the same Newmarket mile on Friday. Settled behind the leading duo early by Oisin Murphy, the 85-40 second favourite needed rousing to get to last year's winner Benbatl (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) but responded by usurping that rival with 1 1/2 furlongs remaining. At the line,...

Woodslane Farm's Sadler's Joy (Kitten's Joy) worked a half-mile in :50.03 over Belmont's main track Wednesday morning in preparation for his fourth appearance in the GI Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Oct. 3. Trained by Tom Albertrani, the 7-year-old finished fourth in 2017 and third in the past two editions of the Joe Hirsch. A veteran of 32 career starts, the late-running horse boasts a record of 7-4-10 with purse earnings in excess of $2.6 million. "We'll be looking at the Joe Hirsch next weekend for him," confirmed Albertrani. "He's doing...

Classic winner Kameko (Kitten's Joy), who landed the G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas in June, will start next in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. on British Champions Day, Oct. 17. The Qatar Racing colourbearer saluted in the G1 Vertem Futurity Trophy S. on the all-weather as a juvenile and won the Newmarket Classic by a neck on June 6. Since then, he has rolled a trio of fours in the July 4 G1 Investec Derby, July 29 G1 Qatar Sussex S. and the Aug. 19 G1 Juddmonte International S. Trainer...

Now that all the building blocks are laid on solid foundations, Godolphin's imposing presence Ghaiyyath (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) is the complete structure as a mature 5-year-old entire capable of enormous efforts. The latest of those was a once barely-conceivable 2 1/4-length defeat of Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) in Sunday's G1 Coral-Eclipse at Sandown and he lines up a worthy short-priced favourite for Wednesday's G1 Juddmonte International at York. This is a race that suits his age group, with the likes of Halling (Ire), Singspiel (Ire), Falbrav (Ire) and Sulamani (Ire)...

The advent of Twitter over the last decade or so has made racing results quickly accessible to fans and observers anywhere in the world, so much so that it seems that a greater number of people in the U.S. are more familiar with European racing than ever before. Back when I was a kid, we'd have to wait for the Blood-Horse magazine to arrive in the mail to scan the 10-day old European results in the agate type in the back pages. Now, we get a video of a race...