Bosserati, Alla Breve headline Jameela Stakes

LAUREL, MD – The gang gets back together at Laurel Park as six horses that competed in last year’s Ben’s Cat Stakes entered Saturday’s 2025 edition, a turf dash for Maryland-bred or -sired and Virginia-bred or -sired performers.

The Ben’s Cat is one of two $100,000 restricted stakes races for turf sprinters at six furlongs on the nine-race program. The first post time is 12:10 pm ET. Laurel Park hosts two “Value Pick 5” wagers with a low takeout rate of 12%.

Whenigettoheaven became trainer Nolan Ramsey’s first stakes winner when he captured last year’s Ben’s Cat by a neck as the odds-on favorite. A 6-year-old gelding by Street Magician, Whenigettoheaven was claimed for $62,500 by Ramsey’s grandfather, Kenneth Ramsey.

“He shows up and tries his best every time,” said Nolan Ramsey. He’s a very honest horse. You can’t ask for much more than that.”

Whenigettoheaven finished third in the King T. Leatherbury Stakes when making his seasonal debut at Laurel on April 18.

“I was happy with his performance,” Ramsey said. “I thought he probably was going to need one, and he got a little bit tired at the end.”

Whenigettoheaven next finished in a dead heat for third in a third-level allowance at Presque Isle Downs on June 4.

“I don’t think the Tapeta is his preferred surface,” Ramsey continued. “I think he’s much better on the turf. With that said, I thought he ran a pretty good race. I think he’s going to benefit from the three-quarters, especially having two races under his belt off the layoff.

Little Man Farm’s Tidewater finished a game second in last year’s Ben’s Cat after setting the early pace.

“That was an absolute heartbreaker of a race,” said trainer Anthony “T J” Aguirre Jr. “One, I didn’t expect to be on the lead and neither did [jockey Sheldon Russell]. Two, I was just happy to see him perform well doing it on the lead.”

Tidewater’s 2024 campaign ended after a runner-up effort in his very next start, a second-level allowance here on August 16.

“By the time [another second-level allowance] came around, it was October,” Aguirre said. “Sheldon worked him, and [Tidewater] came back coughing. He got entrapped. I had to do the surgery on him to release that in his throat. Once that flap went back down, he was able to breathe again.”

Like Whenigettoheaven, Tidewater has two prep races entering the Ben’s Cat. He finished a hard-charging third in a second-level allowance at Pimlico on May 16.

“He needed this one because this was the first real race after that nine-month layoff,” Aguirre said. “Sheldon told me he’s back.”

Tidewater, a 5-year-old Outflanker gelding, has hit the board in 11 of 13 turf starts.

“He’s the little horse that could,” Aguirre stated. “His older brother, Benny Havens, looks like a million dollars compared to him. He looks like somebody that just came out of an Amish field. Just this little thing that you wouldn’t spend a thousand dollars on. But he’s all heart.”

Great Idea, third in last year’s Ben’s Cat, wheels back quickly after finishing third in a salty second-level allowance last Sunday. Owned by Louis Ulman and Walter Vieser II, Great Idea won following a 13-day break last summer for trainer Phil Capuano.

“Ever since [Horacio] Karamanos started riding him, he’s been breaking a lot better and sitting in a lot better position,” Capuano said of Great Idea, who also ran a close second in last year’s Maryland Million Turf Sprint behind gate-to-wire winner Bosserati.

“He ran a huge race in the Maryland Million,” Capuano said. “We just needed a little pace help on the front end, and I just didn’t get it. If we can get a ground-saving trip, I think he should be right there.”

Had to Have Him finished fifth in last year’s Ben’s Cat and third in the Maryland Million Turf Sprint, but don’t be surprised if he’s an improved horse in 2025 for owners Gracie Mae Stables and Great Lake Stable and trainer John Salzman Jr.

Gelded over the winter, the 4-year-old exploded to win his seasonal debut on May 31, an off-turf $40,000 optional claimer at 5 ½ furlongs. Had to Have Him received a career-best 90 Beyer Speed Figure for that performance.

Stakes-winner Determined Kingdom finished sixth as the odds-on favorite in the King T. Leatherbury, his first start after being purchased at public auction for $190,000 by The Estate of R. Larry Johnson. The 6-year-old Animal Kingdom gelding concluded his 2024 season with an authoritative victory in a fourth-level allowance at Keeneland on October 25.

“[That Keeneland race] was the big reason [we bought him],” trainer Michael Trombetta said before the King T. Leatherbury. “Larry, at the time, was looking for a couple of quality horses to run at Colonial. That’s the ultimate goal. I gave him a little break. He wintered good.”

Four weeks after the King T. Leatherbury, Determined Kingdom ran third in the Jim McKay Turf Sprint on the Preakness undercard. Mychel Sanchez retains the mount.

Charles Blanford’s Crabs N Beer turns back to a sprint for the first time since the fall of 2022. Grade 3-placed at 1 1/8 miles last year, the 6-year-old Blofeld gelding recently finished seventh of nine in the Grade 3 Dinner Party on May 17.

“We went back and looked at his form,” said trainer James “Chuck” Lawrence. “[He’s run well sprinting]. We thought we’d take a chance against statebreds, and maybe we would run them down. I like the way the race sets up.”

Sinetic, stakes-placed Hunter Joe and Tall Order complete the field.

Sue Loves Barbados (seventh) and Bump N Run (ninth) are the other two runners from last year’s Ben’s Cat. Both are on the Also Eligible list with Claudee Boy, Embolden, and Slam Notion.

Per the racing office, King Covee will scratch. The first horse on the Also Eligible list, 3 Reasons Racing’s S S Sinatra, takes his place in the starting gate.

*Bosserati, Alla Breve headline Jameela Stakes

After Brittany Russell clinched Maryland’s year-end training title for the second consecutive year, she reflected on some of her stable’s finest moments.

Multiple graded stakes winner Post Time was undoubtedly the barn’s star after finishing an excellent second in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. Still, another Russell-trained runner immediately sprang to mind.

“Bosserati’s win in the Maryland Million was pretty huge,” Russell mentioned.

Indeed, it was as the speedy homebred owned by Joel Politi blitzed the boys to capture the Turf Sprint at 5 ½ furlongs.

Although it’s fun to relive pleasant memories, Russell always looks ahead. Bosserati’s next goal is Saturday’s Jameela Stakes for fillies and mares.

Bosserati, who finished third in last year’s Jameela, raced once more following the Maryland Million Turf Sprint, placing ninth in the Pan Zareta Stakes. From there, it was on to a well-deserved winter vacation.

Bosserati’s return to the races was a smashing success. Racing against open company in Pimlico’s The Very One Stakes on May 16, Bosserati blasted to the lead and held off all challengers, besting Accomplished Girl by a head.

“It’s kind of cool because we’ve had her from the beginning, and those horses are just a little bit more special to everyone in the barn,” Russell said on Tuesday. “She’s our warrior. Everyone’s excited about her.”

While Bosserati is a proven commodity at shorter distances, she still must prove herself at six furlongs.

“You just have to see how it plays out,” Russell explained. “You know she’s going to go, and it’s just going to be a question of whether she can settle enough early to have something to finish up with. I think it’s definitely in her wheelhouse. It’s just going to have to go the right way.”

Runnymoore Racing’s Alla Breve, last year’s Jameela winner, makes her seasonal debut for trainer Michael Matz after finishing fourth in the Pan Zareta.

“She’s a nice filly,” said Matz. “We gave her a nice break over the winter. We were hoping to get a race into her before this, but it just didn’t happen. She’s been training well, but you know how it is after a layoff. You don’t know what they’re going to do, but we hope she shows up. [The Jameela] looked like it was a nice place to start.

Trombetta counters with two quality mares. Hollywood Walk, owned by The Estate of R. Larry Johnson, finished second, beaten a head, in last year’s Jameela. The consistent filly then hit the board in her next five turf sprints, including a victory in a restricted handicap at Colonial.

A half-sister to Grade 1 winner Mindframe, Hollywood Walk ran third in Aqueduct’s License Fee on May 4, her first start in 2025.

The Elkstone Group’s Lifelovenlaughter turns back in distance following a two-turn victory in a second-level allowance race on June 6. The 5-year-old mare by Lemon Drop Kid hasn’t sprinted since her career debut, a third-place finish at Colonial in 2022.

WWCD LLC’s Next Girl, second to Lifelovenlaughter earlier this month, has won sprinting, albeit at seven furlongs on dirt.

Stakes-placed runners Cut From Class and Gift of Gab entered along with Moonlit Kiss and Juniper Juice.