Ken Ramsey On Champion Sire Kitten's Joy

It has become commonplace to see Kitten's Joy's name not just atop the leading sires of turf runners, but in the top five on the general sire list. This year, he had to come from behind to win the title after Candy Ride's Gun Runner picked up a cool $7 million in the Pegasus World Cup. Lucas Marquardt sat down with Ken Ramsey, who moved Kitten's Joy from Ramsey Farm to Hill `n' Dale for the 2018 season, to talk about the big guy.

TDN: Candy Ride gets a $7-million head start coming into the year with Gun Runner winning the Pegasus. Did you think at the time that Kitten's Joy could ever make up that ground and be champion sire this year?

KR: I did because he's been in the top five every single year, and he ran third in 2014, 2015, and 2017, and fifth in 2016, and of course he won the sire of the year for 2013. This will be the sixth year in a row that he's been the leading turf sire. So he's in the top five every year. His first year at stud, we bred him to a lot of mares and most of them were not very good. You ain't got but 14 or 15 outside mares and the rest of them were mine. But some of the outside mares did well for a very small crop to start out with. Since then he's been right there on the top. After the first three or four years out, he started getting up top 10 and then top five a year later. So I wasn't shocked.

TDN: As you mentioned, he's had six great years as leading turf sire. With this being his second general sire title, where do you think that kind of puts him among the modern greats of recent stallions?

KR: Well, I think it puts him right at the top.

TDN: Last year you sold 50% of them to Hill 'n' Dale and you know you kept on going from strength to strength. Do you miss having him here on the farm? I know you kind of view him as family, don't you?

KR: Yes, as you know Kitten's Joy was actually (my wife Sarah's) horse. We've been married 60 years as of September the 6th this year. So, we are 50/50 on everything. We don't quibble about the money or anything like that or horses. Anyway we started out, she had her horses and I had mine. The very first year we would have been the leading owner in the fall meet over at Churchill Downs if we'd have combined forces. Anyway, we didn't. So I said, “Hey, we need to join forces here.” So we joined forces and we kept the big R. But anyway, Kitten's Joy was her horse. She named him. I didn't even want to name him Kitten's Joy. I thought that sounded too feminine, you know, for a colt. Buy anyway, she said “It's my horse and I think we'll have a lot of fun with him. I want to name him Kitten's Joy.” So, you don't argue with a woman if you've lived with her all this time. So, we named him Kitten's Joy.

TDN: So you're the boss, is what I'm hearing…

KR: She got the name and I got a little bit discouraged because I didn't think the yearlings were bringing satisfactory at the sales. So, I cut a deal with the people over in Europe and had a verbal deal to sell him, nothing in writing. I operate a handshake deal so I give a verbal and that's it. I mean we were not going to back out on it, not matter if somebody comes along and offers twice as much. But anyway, she has to sign the papers and I thought I was speaking for her too so I cam in and I said “hey I just got off the phone. Decided we are going to send Kitten's Joy over to Europe. We got a heck of a deal. We get to keep this and keep that.” It wasn't a bad deal and she says “I am not selling that horse to go overseas.” And I said “you're not.” And she said “no, I want to keep him here so I can go see him to visit him.” So anyway, I call the people up and say “hey we got a little problem. I'm not trying to back out I'm good for it.” Anyway long story short we worked out a deal. We give 'em three seasons … I won't go into detail. But anyway, we got out of it honorably, okay. They were happy, they didn't put up any money at all. They ended up getting several seasons. So, I'm happy and they're happy and seems like John Sikura is very happy out at Hill 'n' Dale.

We decided we need to get somebody else to bring in some good mares because I got tired of breeding the $25,000 and $30,000 claimers. And they were still producing a high percentage of Grade I stakes horses, Grade IIs and IIIs. So anyway, we invited all the people around here. Hank had about six different farms interested in the horse. They all came down and made their pitch. At the end we got it down to two and we had them come back and make a separate pitch. And in the end, John Sikura is young, he's ambitious, he's honest, he comes from Canada, he has all the contacts, and he bred him to 164 mares this past year. Some of those were mine, but he got contacts like a who's who.

We had some good people breed to him, too, like his highness Sheikh Mohammed and his brother. They bred 10. That's where he got Hawkbill and all the big horses over there. When those started hitting, I mean we saw if we breed this horse to a good mare, A Grade I or II mare or somebody that did something besides break their maiden for $25-$50,000, big things happen. I wasn't shocked when he got number one on the general sire list again this year.

TDN: How much of selling half of him to John was improving his commercial numbers? He's always been a terrific race sire, but for whatever reason he just wasn't quiet as strong in the sale ring?

KR: That is exactly right. That did improve his commercial numbers. The fact that John got him it looks like now he's going to have a more successful year. He had yearlings out there sell for (700,000 pounds), $725,000, $650,000, $600,000 so the commercial thing has already looked up because John is managing him now and he's got better mares to him. He's got a lot of good horses in the pipeline. Of course, what he's got done now, that's all of ours because John won't have any impact on it until the foals of 2019; those will be the ones that he picked out. 2018 was all of ours and '17 and all of that. We're kind of proud of the fact that we've taken one horse out here and end up winning two Breeders' Cups with him and come close another year.

TDN: For a long time, if there was a good Kitten's Joy, it was wearing the red and white of the Ramsey Farm, and now you are seeing Hawkbill and Oscar Performance and Divisidero.

KR: Don't forget about Roaring Lion. He's the Cartier Horse of the Year in Europe this year.

TDN: So, is it fun for you to see other people having success with them?

KR: Oh, yeah. We feel like it's our success. There are three of Kitten's Joy's sons going to sire this year. Hawkbill, for his highness Sheik Mohammed. He'sgoing to be standing for(7,500 pounds); Roaring Lion standing over at Tweenhills in England for Qatar Racing stands for 40,000 pounds over there. And Oscar Performance out here that the Amermans have standing out here in Mill Ridge for $20,000. So, looks like there's gonna be some pedigrees with the Kitten's Joy's blood in it for a long time to come.