Ben's back in a big way.

And the wait was worth it!

In his first race in more than 5 months following his annual winter vacation, Ben's Cat made his 10-year-old debut with an impressive win a 5 ½-furlong sprint on the Fort Marcy Turf Course that Hall of Famer King Leatherbury's pride and joy loves so much at Laurel Park.

That's right.  Proof positive that Ben's Cat is still going strong, even as a 10-year-old!

And it looks as though race fans around these parts and across the nation won't have to wait even a month now to see the Hall of Fame trainer's multi-millionaire horse run again as he says the $100,000 Jim McKay Turf Sprint May 20 at Pimlico, on the undercard of the $250,000 Black-Eyed Susan, will be the next target for Ben's Cat.

A race that Ben's Cat has become known-for as he has won the McKay three straight years and four of the last five.  A race that has made Ben's Cat and the King "regulars" in winner's circle at Old Hilltop on the day before the 3rd Saturday in May.

Fitting that a race named after a Maryland legend has been won so many times by another Maryland legend trained by a Maryland legend. And how about the Cat's 10-year-old debut on the first Sunday in May. A race that King Leatherbury described as the "comeback race" for his "old boy".  Career victory 31 in 54 tries. His 20th victory on grass and eighth over the plush turf at Laurel.

Ridden for the first time by meet-leading jockey Trevor McCarthy, Ben's Cat came charging down the middle of the track to reel in pacesetting long shot Rapid Dan in deep stretch and edge clear by a neck in 1:03.21.

Second choice in a field of eight at 2-1, behind the favored even-money entry of Aztec Brave and El Botas, Ben's Cat used what Maryland Jockey Club scribes described as a "determined rally on the far outside" to win $52,000 no-condition allowance for 3-year-olds and up. Named to replace regular rider Julian Pimentel, who had been aboard Ben's Cat in 41 of his first 53 starts including 30 in a row dating back to June 2012, McCarthy joined Pimentel, Horacio Karamanos, Jeremy Rose and Rosemary Homeister as jockeys to win atop the Parker's Storm Cat gelding.

It was a sore foot that kept Pimentel from getting his 42 start in the irons with Ben's Cat. McCarthy is now just the sixth jockey to ride Ben's Cat and the first since Sheldon Russell was fifth in the Jim McKay on May 18, 2012.  Karamanos, was aboard for a 2012 Mister Diz Stakes win; Rose, up for six stakes wins between April and October 2011 including the Turf Monster (G3) at Parx; and Homeister, whose lone time in the irons was Ben's Cat's first stakes win in the 2010 Mister Diz.

All as Ben's Cat did not disappoint in his long-awaited return to racing for 2016.

Following Trend enjoyed it CLICK HERE for more cool local racing tweets from Following Trend

It goes without saying that King Leatherbury was "tickled to get the big man back in action.""He ran a super race. I was afraid of that entry shipping in here," Leatherbury said. "It was a little hard for him to get rolling because of where he was. Once he got himself together and fired down the stretch he looked like his old self."

And Ben's Cat's portion of that $52,000 purse on Sunday pushed its career purse earnings over $2.5 million, closing the gap on Broad Brush, the all-time leading Maryland-bred earner at $2,656,793 from 1985-87.

And who knows what King Leatherbury's winning ticket paid that you know the accomplished handicapper cashed-in at the windows after his horse's win on the turf at the "track by the tracks".So what did Trevor McCarthy think about his first ride (and win) in-the-saddle on the legendary fan Maryland-bred favorite?

"He ran a really good race today. He broke well for me, a little sharper than I thought he would. I thought it would be slower on the soft turf," McCarthy said. "I really didn't have to do much. He did all the work; I just kept him out of trouble. I gave him something to run at and when I called upon him he was ready to go. I just guided him around there. Thank you to King and everybody involved. They've all done a great job and really made me look good today."

Well said Trev.

Ben's Cat and the King have made plenty of folks look good over the last decade, jockeys, bettors and race fans all included!
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