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Graded Earnings: $275,480 Race Record: 4-1-0

Bluegrass Cat is a son of one of the world's all-time leading sires; Storm Cat. Storm Cat ranked 11th on the 2005 North American leading sires list in terms of earnings, with Grade One winner Grand Reward his leading earner of his 19 stakes winners this past year.

WinStar bred Bluegrass Cat out of the unraced mare She's a Winner, whom herself was bred by the venerable Phipps racing empire. She's a Winner is out of a grade three winning mare Get Lucky, making her a full sister to the multiple graded winners Daydreaming and Accelerator.

The bay colt's debut came on June 6, 2005 at Churchill Downs where he ran a dismal 8th. However, he bounced back strong winning his next three consecutive races. This year he started out with a win in the Sam F. Davis before running second in the Tampa Bay Derby and fourth in the Blue Grass, which was his most recent outing.

Bluegrass Cat will be ridden by jockey Ramon Dominguez. The twenty-nine year old Dominguez, a native of Venezuela, began riding at age 16 in his home country. He moved to the United States in 1995, riding at Hialeah Park in Florida. He won 312 races in 2005, good for fifth place nationally, with his mounts earning in excess of $10.7 million, placing him tenth for the year. He also led the national standings in both 2001 and 2003, when he had 431 and 453 victories, respectively.

Bluegrass Cat is owned by WinStar Farm LLC. WinStar Farm is a Thoroughbred racing and breeding operation located in Versailles, Kentucky that is owned by Bill Casner and Kenny Troutt.

Trainer Todd Pletcher will saddle-up Bluegrass Cat. Pletcher is a native of Dallas, TX, Pletcher grew up around Thoroughbred racing as his father, Jake Pletcher, trained Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds. After graduating from the University of Arizona with a degree in animal science, he went to work for Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas. He stayed with Lukas for six years, eventually becoming his main East Coast assistant trainer. Pletcher went out on his own in 1996. Since 2000, Pletcher has trained 12 Derby contenders, with his best finish being second in 2001 with Invisible Ink. 

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