Ben's Cat

Ben's Cat was bred by King T. Leatherbury, who was also the nearly black gelding's owner and trainer. Ben's Cat was sired by Parker's Storm Cat, whose only win was a five-furlong sprint on the turf. Parker's Storm Cat was well bred, however, being by leading sire Storm Cat. Ben's Cat's dam, Twofox, was a stakes-placed mare by Thirty Eight Paces,{{cite web|last1=Peters|first1=Anne|title=Pedigree Analysis: Ben's Cat|url=http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/197299/pedigree-analysis-bens-cat|website=bloodhorse.com|access-date=17 August 2016}} a stakes winning stallion also trained by Leatherbury.{{cite web|title=Leatherbury One of Four Voted to Hall of Fame|url=http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/107964/leatherbury-one-of-four-voted-to-hall-of-fame|website=bloodhorse.com|access-date=17 August 2016}}

Although Leatherbury is one of the winningest trainers in American racing history, his stable had shrunk to just fourteen horses by the time Ben's Cat came along. In part because of Ben's Cat success, Leatherbury was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015 at the age of 82.{{cite web|last1=Beyer|first1=Andrew|title=One of a kind, thoroughbred trainer King Leatherbury is a Hall of Famer|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/one-of-a-kind-thoroughbred-trainer-king-leatherbury-is-a-hall-of-famer/2015/08/07/d462b428-3d04-11e5-8e98-115a3cf7d7ae_story.html|website=Washington Post|access-date=18 August 2016}}

Ben's Cat suffered a broken pelvis at age two and spent nearly a year recovering, not making his first start until age four. On May 8, 2010, he won in his first start at Pimlico racetrack in a maiden claiming race, where he could have been purchased for $20,000. He won his second start on June 14 at Delaware Park, where he could have been claimed for $25,000. "Each time he ran, he got better," said Leatherbury. "I'm lucky I didn't lose him in that second claimer. Looking back now, I'd be sick if I had lost him."{{cite web|last1=McKee|first1=Sandra|title=Leatherbury has Ben's Cat ready to pounce|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2010/10/01/leatherbury-has-bens-cat-ready-to-pounce/|website=Baltimore Sun|access-date=18 August 2016}}

Ben's Cat then went on a win streak, including his first stakes win on August 21 in the Mister Diz Stakes at Laurel Park. He gained a reputation as a talented "freak" who specialized in photo finish victories.{{cite web|title=King and the Cat: The Pride of Maryland|url=http://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/40365/|website=Thoroughbred Daily News|access-date=18 August 2016}} On October 2, he won the Maryland Million Turf Sprint Handicap for the first time, followed by a win in the Find Handicap at a distance of {{frac|1|1|8}} miles. His only loss in his four-year-old campaign came in the Forty Niner Stakes at Aqueduct on December 19.{{cite web|title=Remembering Ben's Cat - Slideshow|url=http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/slideshows/slideshow/bens-cat/bens-cat?id=222640|website=www.bloodhorse.com|access-date=20 July 2017|language=en}} He was named the Maryland-bred champion sprinter and turf runner.{{cite web|title=Maryland-bred Honor Roll|url=http://marylandthoroughbred.com/cms/pdf/honorroll.pdf|website=marylandthoroughbredcom|access-date=18 August 2016}}

Although he had shown the ability to win on both dirt and turf, and had won at distances of up to nine furlongs, Leatherbury decided to focus the gelding on turf sprints in the mid-Atlantic racing circuit. Accordingly, Ben's Cat raced in many of the same races each year and established several notable win records:

• He won the Mister Diz Stakes six years in a row, from 2010 to 2015,{{cite web|last=Angst |first=Frank |url=http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/105490/bens-cat-wins-mister-diz-sixth-straight-year |title=Ben's Cat Wins Mister Diz Sixth Straight Year |publisher=BloodHorse.com |date= |access-date=2016-05-22}} plus a third in 2016.
• The horse was a three-time winner, all consecutive from 2010 to 2012, of the Maryland Million Turf Sprint Handicap.{{cite web|url=http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/125952/not-abroad-wins-maryland-million-classic-bens-cat-makes-history-in-turf-sprint |title=Not Abroad wins Maryland Million Classic; Ben's Cat makes history in Turf Sprint |publisher=BloodHorse.com |date= |access-date=2016-05-22}} He also finished second in 2013 through 2015.
• He won the Jim McKay Turf Sprint at Pimlico Race Course five times, including four in a row from 2013 to 2016.{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/horse-racing/story/_/id/15632866/ben-cat-finds-room-mckay-turf-sprint-win |title=Ben's Cat finds room for McKay Turf Sprint win |publisher=Espn.go.com |date= |access-date=2016-05-22}}{{cite web|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/horse-racing/preakness/bs-sp-preakness-notes-0520-20160519-story.html |title=Ben's Cat to make sixth straight appearance in Jim McKay Turf Sprint |publisher=Baltimore Sun |date= |access-date=2016-05-22}}
• He won the Grade III Turf Monster Handicap at Parx Racing in both 2011 and 2012.{{cite web|author=By Tom LaMarra, @BH_TLaMarra |url=http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/112249/bens-cat-seeks-third-turf-monster-victory |title=Ben's Cat Seeks Third Turf Monster Victory |publisher=BloodHorse.com |date= |access-date=2016-05-22}} He also finished third in 2013 and second in 2014.
• He won the Grade III Parx Dash Handicap from 2012 to 2014, also finishing second in 2011 and third in 2016.

Ben's Cat also won the $250,000 Fabulous Strike Handicap on Parx Racing's main (dirt) track from 2012 to 2014.{{cite web|title=Ben's Cat retired from racing at age 11 |url=http://www.drf.com/news/bens-cat-retired-racing-age-11|website=Daily Racing Form|access-date=28 June 2017|language=en}}

Ben's Cat earned a dedicated following in the mid-Atlantic region. "One reason is he’s been around so long," said Leatherbury in 2015. "Most horses are a flash in the pan, and just when people start to like them, they disappear from the scene. But he comes back year after year, so his fans are able to share in his success."

File:Ben's Cat.jpg

Ben's Cat's last win came on May 20, 2016, in the Jim McKay Turf Sprint, a race in which he was well behind and in heavy traffic with a quarter-mile remaining. "At no time in the race did he look like he was going to win," said Leatherbury. "He hits the top of the stretch and I'm just hoping for third money. And the next thing you know, he splits horses and sticks his nose out right at the wire. I get chills when I hear the replay of it."{{cite web|title=After 26 Stakes Wins, Fan Favorite Ben's Cat Retired|url=http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/222299/after-26-stakes-wins-fan-favorite-bens-cat-retired|website=BloodHorse.com|access-date=28 June 2017|language=en}}

Ben's Cat raced eight more times in the following months but finished no better than third. After he finished ninth in the Mister Diz Stakes on June 24, 2017, Leatherbury decided to retire the horse. "He just hadn't come back to last year's form," said Leatherbury. "He wasn't getting anything, and I just hated to see him keep going like that. It was time to draw a line."{{cite web|last1=Walker|first1=Childs|title=Popular thoroughbred Ben's Cat, winner of 26 stakes, retired at age 11|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/horse-racing/bs-sp-bens-cat-retired-20170627-story.html|website=baltimoresun.com|access-date=28 June 2017}}

Ben's Cat finished his career a record of 32 wins from 63 starts, including 26 stakes race victories. His earnings totalled over $2.6 million. He was retired at the Kentucky farm of Chris Welker, a long-time fan of the horse

.

Shortly after his arrival at the farm, Ben's Cat suffered a serious bout of colic. On July 6, 2017, he underwent surgery at the Haygard Equine Medical Institute for an epiploic foramen entrapment, a condition that unlike typical cases of colic is unrelated to changes in diet or routine.{{cite web|last1=Voss|first1=Natalie|title=Veterinarian: Ben's Cat Colic A Complex Condition, Unrelated To Retirement |url=https://www.paulickreport.com/horse-care-category/vet-topics/veterinarian-bens-cat-colic-complex-condition-unrelated-retirement/|website=www.paulickreport.com|access-date=20 July 2017|language=en}} He experienced severe post-operative complications and was humanely euthanized on July 18.{{cite web|title=Maryland Horse of the Year Ben's Cat Dies|url=http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/222635/maryland-horse-of-the-year-bens-cat-dies|website=BloodHorse.com|access-date=18 July 2017|language=en}}

"I thought he had it licked," said Leatherbury. "I was bragging on him so. I said, 'Here's a winner. He beat the odds.' I've had it happen to a couple other horses and never had one survive ... It was devastating for me. It was a tragic end for a magnificent horse."{{cite web|last1=Nevilis|first1=Joe|title=Ben's Cat, 11, succumbs to colic complications |url=http://www.drf.com/news/bens-cat-11-succumbs-colic-complications|website=Daily Racing Form|access-date=19 July 2017|language=en}}

On November 11, Ben's Cat was buried on the northeast side of the paddock at Laurel Park.{{cite web|title=Ben's Cat Laid to Rest at Laurel Park|url=https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/224721/bens-cat-laid-to-rest-at-laurel-park|website=BloodHorse.com|accessdate=11 November 2017|language=en}}

Ben's Cat was named the Maryland-bred Horse of the Year four times, from 2011 to 2014. He has also earned 17 divisional championships in the state-bred older horse, sprinter and turf horse categories.

In 2016, the Ben's Cat Stakes at Laurel Park for Maryland-bred horses was named in his honor.{{cite web|title=Ben's Cat to be Rested; Back in 2016|url=http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/202721/bens-cat-to-be-rested-back-in-2016|website=bloodhorse.com|access-date=18 August 2016}} In 2017, Ben's Cat was named the winner of Secretariat Vox Populi Award, an award created by Penny Chenery to "honor the horses whose stories draw people to Thoroughbred racing and convert them to fans."{{cite web|title=Ben's Cat Named Vox Populi Winner|url=https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/225225/bens-cat-named-vox-populi-winner|website=BloodHorse.com|accessdate=18 December 2017|language=en}}

{{Pedigree

|name = Ben's Cat, gelding, 2006{{cite web|title=Ben's Cat Pedigree|url=http://www.equineline.com/Free-5X-Pedigree.cfm/Ben's%20Cat?page_state=DISPLAY_REPORT&reference_number=7757661®istry=T&horse_name=Ben%27s%20Cat&dam_name=Twofox&foaling_year=2006&include_sire_line=Y|website=www.equineline.com|access-date=18 August 2016}}

|f = Parker's Storm Cat
2000

|m = Twofox
1993

|ff = Storm Cat
1983

|fm = Macoumba
1992

|mf = Thirty Eight Paces
1978

|mm = Dronette
1978

|fff = Storm Bird

|ffm = Terlingua

|fmf = Mr. Prospector

|fmm = Maximova (FR)

|mff = Nodouble

|mfm = Thirty Paces

|mmf = Drone

|mmm = Stacey d'Ette

|ffff = Northern Dancer

|fffm = South Ocean

|ffmf = Secretariat

|ffmm = Crimson Saint

|fmff = Raise a Native

|fmfm = Gold Digger

|fmmf = Green Dancer

|fmmm = Baracala

|mfff = Noholme

|mffm = Abla-Jay

|mfmf = Dancing Count

|mfmm = Band Book Sadye

|mmff = Sir Gaylord

|mmfm = Cap and Bells

|mmmf = Pago Pago

|mmmm = Roger Ann (family: 9-f){{cite web|title=Bens Cat Horse Pedigree|url=http://www.pedigreequery.com/bens+cat|website=www.pedigreequery.com|access-date=18 August 2016}}

}}

Ben's Cat was inbred to Northern Dancer 4S × 5D, meaning Northern Dancer appears in the fourth generation of the sire's side of the pedigree and in the fifth generation of the dam's side of the pedigree. He was also inbred 5S x 5D to Somethingroyal, the dam of both Secretariat and Sir Gaylord.

• Repeat winners of horse races

{{reflist}}

Category:2006 racehorse births

Category:Racehorses bred in Maryland

Category:Racehorses trained in the United States

Category:Thoroughbred family 9-f

Category:2017 racehorse deaths