Sim Trainer Stats
Sim Race Stats
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QUEEN'S CATS
1995 mare, (Storm Cat x Mr. Prospector x Search for Gold )
Owner/Trainer: slewbetcha
Record: 100-33-15-12 $3,997,430
Win: Dancer Cap-G1, Gin Blossom H-G1, Real Danger H-G2, Barb's Buddy Boy Cap-G2, Bluegrass Distaff Sprint-G2, Dandelion Sprint-G2, Distaff Breeders' Bowl H-G2 (2x), Sister Dumb S-G2, Lil' Leprechaun Dash-G2, Delta Tau Chi Sprint-G2, Manta Serra H-G2, Heyman Sprint S-G3, Trail Mix S-G3, Ontario 1278 S, Vermont 1152 Challenge, Maine 746 H, SFRs 50th Issue S, Illinois 495 Challenge, Arizona 383 Special, New Jersey 173 H, Louisiana 124 S, NWRC Tribute S, NWRC Puget Sound S
Place: Sand Castle Golden Sprint-G1, Ruffian H-G1, Sky Beauty Sprint-G1, Fast Lady Special-G1, Athena Sprint-G2, Real Danger H-G2, Blueberry S-G3, Natural Spring S-G3, Steeler Princess S, Louisiana 921 S, Iowa 767 S, Iowa 418 S, Kansas 278 S, Michigan 152 Special.
Show:Breeders' Bowl Sprint-G1, Tis an Angel H-G1, Ky Distaff Cap-G2, Dandelion Sprint-G2, First Time H-G2, Trail Mix S-G3, Natural Spring S-G3, Dolly Prummond S-G3, Lifetime Sprint Distaff-G3, Bright Light H, Alabama 1649 S
If you see Storm Cat and Mr. Prospector in a pedigree, you might think dirt sprinter, and while there have been many quirks over the years, Queen's Cats stayed true to her pedigree. Queen's Class was sprinting royalty for years at a time where opportunities for dirt sprinters was somewhat limited, often stepping outside her gender or even her preferred distance, to take on all comers. Unraced at two, she would win her debut at first asking going six furlongs in sub 1:10, always the sign of a good horse, and she cleared the next condition just as easily. The diminuitive filly did not fair as well in two starts going over a mile, one on turf. Returned to sprinting, the Storm Cat miss won three of her next four starts, including an ungraded stakes. Stepped up to G3 competition, but cut back to five furlongs, Queen's Cats gave every indication that she could handle the step up in class, but needed more distance, as she closed for third behind the front running Kid Baby. She would finish second next time out, then wrap up her campaign in an ambitious manner, taking on males in the G1 Spidey vs. Sundevil Challenge. She would be a distant third against the likes of Alyming and the classy mare Ack Liability, who had previously defeated the boys in the Breeders' Bowl Sprint. At the end of the year, Queen's Cats showed that she had talent, but was not quite ready to tackle the best in her division.
The Queen kicked off her four year old campaign with a solid win in an ungraded stakes, and was rewarded with yet another graded stakes attempt against males. She would settle for fifth. Queen's Cats would spend her next several starts at the allowance and ungraded stakes level, and after a few stumbles, gradually gaining confidence and putting in better and better efforts. After two facile wins, a 5 1/2 furlong allowance in 1:03 and a 6 1/2 furlong stakes in 1:15 4/5, the Dancer Cap-G1 stood out as a tempting prize, one of the few grade 1 opportunities for a dirt sprinting filly on the race calendar. The Queen, based on her recent fast times, was sent off the co-favorite, over the likes of Ack Liability and Kid Baby. The fans proved prophetic, as the Slewbetcha trainee sat just off the early pace before kicking clear to come home a G1 winner, with a time of 1:22 1/5. Wheeled back two weeks later, she was a dull fourth against Sister Rum in a six furlong affair, then would once more try a route of ground. This time, at a flat mile, Queen's Cats would hang in gamely to finish second. WIth that encouragement, slewbetcha sent the iron filly to the G1 Ruffian, at 1 1/16 miles. The Queen traded blows with the Breeders' Bowl Distaff winner, Cheyenne Storm, for most of the race, and with less than a furlong to go, dispatched that rival and seemed home free, opening up a four length lead at the top of the stretch. Unfortunately, it was a case of winning the battle and losing the war, as the late charging Rusty Deputy, fresh off a victory in the Chubby Visa-G2 closed hard to win by two. Queen's Cats was still best of the rest of a talented field, and had shown quite a lot, even in defeat. The Queen would show up again in the entries one week later, but bounced badly after her gutsy effort in the Ruffian, then was back to her old self in the Steeler Princess at 6 furlongs, finishing second behind La Hana, who freaked with a 119 SF and a time of 1:08 4/5 for six panels. The Breeders' Bowl was fast approaching, and based on the Ruffian, the decision was made to send the Queen in the Distaff. Nine furlongs was simply too far, and she faded to ninth. Things improved next out with a third place finish in the Kentucky Cup Distaff-G2, at one mile. After a heavy campaign, most horses would be begging for a break, but Queen's Cats seemed to thrive on activity, winning her next two starts, both stakes, with speed figures of 111 and 112. Somewhat curiously, she would finish out the year in a turf sprint, and much like the year before, the Queen showed she didn't much care for the green stuff. Queen's Cats finished 1999 with a record of 21-8-5-2, and gave her best every time, even with little rest or race conditions that did not always suit. For many horses, that would be a fine career, rather than a season.
Slewbetcha would not give the mare much time to rest on her accomplishments. Two weeks into the year, the Queen was back at it, but stumbled at the start and never could recover, finishing a disappointing eighth in her seasonal debut. Next came another rare opportunity for G1 credentials against sprinting fillies, the Tie An Angel Handicap. Naturally, it attracted a strong field, and while the Queen tried hard, the 6 furlong distance proved just a bit too short, and she would have to settle for a rallying third behind La Hana. Stretched out to 7 panels, the Queen turned the tables on her rival, defeating La Hana by three decisive lengths in the G2 Barb's Buddy Boy Cap with a time of 1:21 4/5. After a disappointing effort at a mile, the Storm Cat mare would rebound with a vengeance at her favorite distance, nabbing the 7 furlong Distaff Breeders' Bowl Cap-G2 by two lengths. Cut back to six furlongs, Queen's Cats gave it her usual best, but fell 1 1/2 lengths short behind Prospect Dealing in the Real Danger H-G2. Next came the Trail Mix Stakes-G3 at 7 1/2 furlongs, and in this odd betwixt and between distance, the Queen ruled. She stormed home a 2 1/2 length winner, with a monster 122 SF. Not surprisingly, she bounced next out, but was back in the winner's circle in her next start, the G2 Lil' Leprechaun Dash. A return to 1 1/16 miles proved less successful than the Ruffian the year before, but then the Queen once again picked up where she left off, winning the G2 Delta Tau Chi Sprint at 7 furlongs. A puzzling start at 10 furlongs went about as you might expect, but a six furlong prep for the Dancer went much better, with a confidence building win. While the Dancer seemed to fit the Storm Cat mare perfectly, given her record at 7 furlongs, including her score in this very race the year before, this time, it just was not her year, as the Queen had to settle for fourth behind Ack Liability with a 110 SF. Two more losses would follow, before a trip to the Equinics on behalf of the NWRC. At six furlongs, the race was not her best distance, but slewbetcha's mare still managed to come home a silver medallist, losing to a familiar face in Sister Rum. A rare showing against allowance company resulted in an easy score, but that would be the last time Queen's Cats would see the winner's circle this year. Picking up minor awards in her last five starts, although she was unlucky in the 7 furlong Blueberry Stakes-G2, where the Queen would post a 120 SF, but Organic Project tossed down a 124. From 23 starts, the Queen had won five graded stakes, and proven to be one of the best dirt sprinting fillies in training.
After knocking on the door in her last few starts, the Queen would break through in her initial start of 2001, winning the Dandelion Sprint-G2 by 2 1/4 lengths over the likes of Skinny Cat, La Hana and Hasty Lynn. After falling just short next out, Queen's Cats would return to her favorite distance in the Manta Serria H-G2, and uncharacteristically went straight to the front and never looked back, defeating Skinny Cat, La Hana, and Ack Liability. The Queen threw down a sensational time of 1:20 2/5 for the 7 furlongs, and earned a 128 SF in the process. Her closest rival, Skinny Cat, was three lengths behind. Cutting back to six furlongs and facing the boys resulted in a fourth, but back at 7 panels, the Queen would capture the G2 Distaff Breeders' Bowl Cap for a second consecutive year, posting a 120 SF. In a display of versatility, Queen's Cats then won the 6 furlong Sister Dumb Stakes-G2 over Sister Rum, and stretched out to 1 1/6 miles to grab the Gin Blossom Cap-G1 (116 SF) from Rakida's Road, Skinny Cat, Mother Story, Alone That Baby, Seriously Double and Rusty Deputy. After three stellar efforts, a bounce was almost inevitable, but like the class act she is, Queen's Cats would move forward off of that race, and won the Bluegrass Distaff Sprint-G2, her sixth graded score of the year. Next on the dance card was a return to one of the Queen's finest performances, the G3 Trail Mix Stakes, but while she ran well as the favorite, it was not good enough, and so she would tire just a little in the stretch to finish third. Six straight off the board finishes would follow, and nothing seemed to do the trick in terms of turning things around. Just when fans really thought the Queen was done, though . . . . she wasn't. The Queen reeled off three straight confidence building wins, one in an ungraded stakes, the other two in NWRC events. It was against easier company, but more encouraging, her speed figures had picked right back up into the 109/110 range. Unfortunately, while things were turning around, they weren't turning around to the extent Slewbetcha hoped, as a trip to the Breeders' Bowl Distaff proved no better than her previous try two years ago. The Queen would close out the year with another NWRC stakes win, and a solid third in the Natural Spring Stakes-G3. For the second straight year, the iron filly had faced the starter 23 times, 10 of them wins, 6 of them in graded stakes company.
Queen's Cats showed no sign of slowing down. She kicked off the year with a third place effort in the Dandelion Sprint-G3, then won a 7 furlong ungraded stakes with a 123 SF. A second trip to the Equinics resulted in a second silver medal for the NWRC. An unfortunate stumble out of the gate cost her any chance at completing a third straight victory in the Distaff Breeders' Bowl Cap-G2. The now seven year old made the much younger Affirmation work hard for victory in the G1 Fast Lady, with the younger filly all out to hold off the Queen by a fast diminishing 1/4 length. Two unsuccessful starts followed, including a tilt against the boys, but you could never keep the Queen down for long - she returned to the winner's circle in the G2 Real Danger, turning the tables on Affirmation, and posting a 118 SF. The race took its toll, and so she would fail to hit the board in her next three starts, but the results weren't as bad as they might seem, as she continually brought triple digit speed figures, even in defeat. Yet another trophy was added to the wall when the Queen won the G3 Heyman Sprint Stakes. Another Breeders' Bowl rolled around, and this time, instead of the Distaff, slewbetcha sent the star mare against the boys. While that had not worked well in the past, this time, the filly would finish a gallant third in one of racing's biggest events, behind fellow veteran Barely That Auggie. Her final start of the year would once again be in the Natural Spring S-G3, this time finishing second.
The starts had piled up over the years, and the eight year old was quickly running up against the 100 start limit. The miles were also catching up - the Heyman Sprint proved to be the mare's final win, as she would only hit the board three times in eight starts. But, she was still ducking no one. Her second place finish came behind Barely That Auggie in the Sand Castle Golden Sprint-G1, where she posted a 113 SF (in her 97th lifetime start), and leaving a host of graded stakes winning males in her wake. She would go off into retirement with 33 wins from 100 starts, a number exceeded by only a few horses (as of this writing, among retired horses, she is tied for 10th for highest number of wins), and at the time of retirement, was fourth in lifetime earnings for fillies and mares.
At first blush, the casual reader may note that she only had two grade 1 wins over a 100 start career, and question her worthiness for the Hall. In an era of few grade 1 opportunities for dirt sprinting fillies (she only raced seven times against sprint fillies in G1 races, including four starts in the Dancer Cap-G1), she raced hard over a variety of distances, against all comers, and was still as competitive at age 8, in the twilight of her career, as she had been at age 4. As a six year old, Queen's Cats won six graded stakes in four months. She did her best every time while dancing every dance and proved to be a true iron lady. Her accomplishments, which go beyond mere stats, resulted in a warranted election into the Hall of Fame by the Old Timers Committee.
As a broodmare, Queen's Cats has continued her classy ways. From six foals to race, all have been winners, four have earned black-type, and two, Cat's Song (by Unbridled's Song) and Skip the Cat (by Skip Away), have won stakes sprinting.
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