Bobby's Kitten ace sprinter-miler from Theatrical family

BOBBY'S KITTEN (USA) - 2011 bay horse

The early stallion sons of Sadler's Wells (by Northern Dancer) achieved mixed results at stud but one of the handful who stood out was El Prado, an Irish Group 1 winner who went to stud in the USA. The grey was out of the Group 1 Irish 1000 Guineas scorer Lady Capulet (by Sir Ivor), he sired 83 stakes winners and one of the most influential of those is his son Kitten's Joy.

The Grade 1 star and long-time Ramsey Farm stallion (he's now at Hill 'N Dale Farms) is well-established as being one of the leading sires in the US, his European representatives include multiple Group 1 stars Hawkbill and Roaring Lion – both new sires for 2019 – and he is also responsible for one of the most intriguing young members of the European stallion ranks: Bobby's Kitten, who stands at Lanwades Stud and has 71 foals in his first crop.​

His best win came in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, where he got up near the line to beat No Nay Never by half a length, and his sole European start resulted in a runaway success in a six-furlong listed contest at Cork, so there might be a temptation to view him solely as a sprinter and to have expectations that his best progeny will excel in that division. But these would not be accurate perceptions of this high-class prospect.

Bobby's Kitten was just as effective at a mile, as one would expect of a Kitten's Joy horse who comes from the immediate family of the Grade 1 stars Paradise Creek (by Irish River), Wild Event (by Wild Again), Forbidden Apple (by Pleasant Colony), David Junior (by Pleasant Tap) and Eden's Moon (by Malibu Moon).​

He is the best of four multiple winners for his dam, Celestial Woods (by Forestry), and that triple scorer's quartet includes the listed race winner Major Magic and the high-class eight to 10-furlong horse Camelot Kitten, a dual Grade 2 scorer. All are full-brothers to her Grade 1 star.

The aforementioned list of Group/Grade 1 stars all appear under third dam North of Eden (by Northfields) – the first three are her sons and she is the grandam of the latter pair. And, as many will remember, the more famous of her two high-class siblings was Theatrical (by Nureyev), the Group 1 Irish Derby runner-up who went on to sweep six Grade 1s and the turf horse Eclipse Award in the USA before going on to becoming a leading international sire.

There is also a horse of note under the second generation of his pedigree as Blissful Song (by Unbridled's Song), who is a half-sister to Celestial Woods, is the dam of triple Argentine Grade 1 star Sixties Song (by Sixties Icon), the latest of those wins coming over 12 furlongs at San Isidro late last month.

With the right mares, Bobby's Kitten could certainly get some top-notch sprinters, but the overall picture of his racing record and pedigree is that of a horse who has the potential to become a successful sire of milers and middle-distance horses. He was a Grade 1-placed eight-and-a-half furlong Grade 3 scorer as a juvenile so he also appeals as a stallion who could get some high-class late season juveniles too.

​BOBBY'S KITTEN (USA) – b.2011 – Kitten's Joy – Celestial Woods, 6 wins inc Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (Gr1), Pilgrim Stakes (Gr3), Penn Mile Stakes (L), Cork Stakes (L), 2nd National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes (Gr2), 3rd Woodbine Mile Stakes (Gr1), Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (Gr1). Sire in England. First foals in 2018.

FOALS CATALOGUED:
Chf - All Mine (by Pour Moi)     Goffs     November     €23,000
Bc - Aseela (by Teofilo)     Tattersalls     December     not sold
Chc - Avenbury (by Mount Nelson)     Tattersalls     December     not sold
Bf - Dreamily (by New Approach)     Tattersalls     November     1,000gns
Chc - Dreaming Of Stella (by Giant’s Causeway)     Tattersalls     November     16,000gns
Bf - Emily Davison (by Moss Vale)     Tattersalls     November     6,000gns
Bc - Eminencia (by Sadler’s Wells)     Tattersalls     November     7,500gns
Chf - Flurry Of Hands (by Acclamation)     Goffs     November     withdrawn
Bc - Galistic (by Galileo)     Goffs     November     €30,000
Bf - Gotcha Good (by Arch)     Tattersalls     November     not sold
Bc - Heading North (by Teofilo)     Tattersalls     November     10,000gns
Bc - Isostatic (by Champs Elysees)     Tattersalls     November     not sold
Bf - Kashoof (by Green Desert)     Tattersalls     November     800gns
Chf - Kentucky Belle (by Heliostatic)     Tattersalls     November     2,000gns (p/s)
Chf - Kogershin (by Giant’s Causeway)     Tattersalls     November     5,500gns
Bf - Lassies Envoi (by Makfi)     Tattersalls     December     withdrawn
Bc - Luisa Calderon (by Nayef)     Tattersalls     November     not sold
Chf - Midnight Ransom (by Red Ransom)     Tattersalls     December     withdrawn
Bc - Mistaken Love (by Bernardini)     Tattersalls     November     withdrawn
Bc - Mockinbird (by Makfi)     Tattersalls     November     not sold
Bf - Quiet Elegance (by Fantastic Light)     Tattersalls     November     not sold
Bc - Red Blooded Woman (by Red Ransom)     Tattersalls     December     withdrawn
Bc - Rocknrollbaby (by Fastnet Rock)     Tattersalls     November     4,000gns
Bc - Silken Terms (by Nayef)     Tattersalls     November     not sold
Bf - Sinister Ruckus (by Trippi)     Tattersalls     November     1,500gns
Bf - Sularina (by Alhaarth)     Goffs     November     not sold
Bc - Sunset Shore (by Oasis Dream)     Tattersalls     November     withdrawn
Bc - Topflightcoolracer (by Lujain)     Tattersalls     December     not sold
Bc - Tottie (by Fantastic Light)     Tattersalls     December     ​not sold