Herr Kitten rose to the occasion, outdueling Sí Señor to punch his ticket to the Breeders’ Cup

The colt defeated Maroñas’ top older horse at level weights in the G3 Gran Premio Pedro Piñeyrúa, earning a coveted berth to Keeneland

Herr Kitten y Carlos Lavor pudieron con Sí Señor / JUAN I. BOZZELLO

By Diego H. Mitagstein (Special correspondent to Turf Diario at Montevideo, Uruguay)

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (Special to Turf Diario).- One of the biggest storylines heading into the international Jan. 6 meeting at Hipódromo Nacional de Maroñas was the Breeders’ Cup qualifying status granted for the first time to the Gran Premio Pedro Piñeyrúa (G3-1600m, dirt).

Now part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series – Win and You’re In, the traditional mile carried not only prestige, but also a direct berth to the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) in late October at Keeneland.

Emerging with everything on the line was the progressive colt Herr Kitten, who rose to the occasion to edge the heavy favorite Sí Señor (Señor Candy) by a nose. Despite the defeat, the latter—widely regarded as the best older horse pound-for-pound on this side of the Río de la Plata—once again underlined his immense class.

Brazilian-bred at Haras São Luiz, Herr Kitten arrived unbeaten in three starts for his first clash with elders, having returned from a six-month layoff due to injury with a promising victory in the Clásico Argentina (L) over 1500 meters on a rain-soaked surface.

With that comeback behind him and maturity now playing a decisive role, the Stud Los Trico runner delivered a heroic performance, fending off sustained pressure from the public choice for nearly 250 meters and making full use of the five-pound weight break he received under weight-for-age conditions.

Close up, Latte Macchiato (Put It Back) and Ababor Fever (Texas Fever) completed the superfecta, finishing a half-length and three-quarters of a length back, respectively, in strong efforts of their own. The final time was an excellent 1:34.81, with splits of :22.32, :46.05 and 1:10.37.

As for Argentina’s Storm Sound, the outcome was not what had been hoped for. The son of Hi Happy finished seventh, 7 1/4 lengths behind the winner. It was by no means a failure—he tracked early leader Save the King (Forestry) for much of the way—but he did fall short of his best. Racing away from home is never easy.

Carlos Lavor was aboard Herr Kitten, a son of Camelot Kitten, with Ricardo Colombo handling training duties. Both professionals were visibly thrilled afterward—and given the conditioner’s well-known penchant for traveling, the idea of Herr Kitten charting a course toward Keeneland suddenly seems far from far-fetched.