NCHA News

A full house on Day One of NCHA Kit Kat Sugar Super Stakes

A full house topped the first day of the 2021 NCHA Kit Kat Sugar Super Stakes on Thursday, March 25, when three horses scored 223 points and two earned 222 points in 5-Year-Old Open go-round competition, which will conclude on Friday morning.

Dr Sueish LTE $83,036 posted 223 points under Kenny Platt midway through the first set to establish Thursday’s high bar. Tuff Nu Catillac LTE $44,493 and Matt Miller matched the score in set three, followed by Spookys Honey Badger LTE $35,252 and Grant Setnicka with another 223-point score in set four.

Stole A Kiss LTE $134,104 and Late Night Hustler $13,086, first and second in set seven under James Payne and Russ Westfall, respectively, claimed deuces across the card.

Owned by Robert Tregemba, Castle Rock, Colo., Dr Sueish was bred by Bambi Gress, Ennis, Mont. The Hottish gelding is the first money earner out of out of the WR This Cats Smart daughter Sues So Smart LTE $113,652, a half-sister to Boon Too Suen LTE $250,368, among the earners of over $1.5 million out of Meradas Little Sue LTE $670,098, by Freckles Merada.

Kenny Platt, the NCHA Hall of Fame earner of $1.9 million, showed Dr Sueish as an NCHA Futurity Open Semi-Finalist. Earlier this year, after a successful  showing in 2020 events, the pair placed third in the Cattlemen’s 5/6 Open Classic.

Owned and bred by Blakley Simoneaux, Boligee, Ala., Tuff Nu Catillac, a Woody Be Tuff daughter out of Desires Nu Catillac LTE $58,923, began her career as an NCHA Open Semi-Finalist under Matt Miller, and collected 2020 Open limited event earnings with Miller, as well as Non-Pro earnings with Blakley and her sister Madalyn.

Matt Miller, the NCHA Open and Non-Pro Hall of Fame earner of $3.8 million, was reserve champion of the 2006 NCHA Super Stakes Non-Pro riding Hokies Cat LTE $153,389, and has placed as a finalist in nine NCHA Super Stakes Open events.

Spookys Honey Badger is owned by Robert Thigpen, Chilton, Tex. The Hottish-sired gelding was bred by Jeff Barnes, Wilton, Calif., out of the High Brow Cat daughter Spookys Nine Eleven, a half-sister to Reyzin The Cash LTE $274,386, among earners of over $727,000 out of Spookys Cash LTE $284,313, by Miss N Cash.

Stole A Kiss and Late Night Hustler were both bred by Brad Rogers, Madill, Okla., and are both sired by Metallic Cat. Owned by Kathleen Moore, Madill, Okla., Stole A Kiss placed seventh with James Payne in the 2019 NCHA Open Futurity, and won the 2020 Abilene Spectacular Open championship. Earlier this year, the red roan mare carried Moore as reserve champion of the Cattlemens 5/6 Non-Pro Derby and placed with Payne in the Abilene Spectacular Open.

Late Night Hustler, owned by James and Gay Karhan, Blanco, Tex., claimed the majority of his lifetime earnings this year in the Cattlemen’s 5/6 Derby, where he placed with Westfall in the Open, as well as with Gay Karhan in the Amateur Unlimited.

The 2021 NCHA Kit Kat Sugar Super Stakes continues through Saturday, April 17.