Cavorting draws clear in the 2016 Ogden Phipps.
By definition, Cavorting means to “jump or dance around excitedly” and after Saturday’s Ogden Phipps (GI) at Belmont Park there’s little doubt a lot of that was going on in the Kiran McLaughlin barn after the Stonestreet Stables-owned daughter of Bernardini captured the 47th running of the 1 1/16-mile race by 2 1/2 lengths after rallying from the very back in the early going.
Ridden by jockey Florent Geroux for the first time, Cavorting completed the distance in 1:40.14.
Cavorting was the public’s near 9-2 fourth choice in the field of seven and paid $10.60, $5.50 and $4.10. Forever Unbridled, who had a fairly troubled trip from the get-go and, after rallying from last, was stuck behind a wall of rivals unwilling to let her through at the top of the stretch, rallied when clear to finish second at nearly 7-2, returning $4.90 and $3.50. Carrumba, at 10-1, was another half-length back in third and was good for $5.20.
Curalina, the 9-5 post time favorite, was fourth and was followed by Sheer Drama, Stopchargingmaria and Desert Valley.
Cavorting, who has now earned $1,663,000 thanks to the $535,000 winner’s share of the Ogden Phipps pot, won her seventh race in 12 career starts. The four-year-old Kentucky-bred filly won last year’s Prioress Stakes (GI) ant Test Stakes (GI) and won this year’s Ruffian Handicap (GII) in her most recent start.
California native and lifelong horsewoman Margaret Ransom is a graduate of the University of Arizona’s Race Track Industry Program. She got her start in racing working in the publicity departments at Calder Race Course and Hialeah Park, as well as in the racing office at Gulfstream Park in South Florida. She then spent six years in Lexington, KY, at BRISnet.com, where she helped create and develop the company’s popular newsletters: Handicapper’s Edge and Bloodstock Journal. After returning to California, she served six years as the Southern California news correspondent for BloodHorse, assisted in the publicity department at Santa Anita Park and was a contributor to many other racing publications, including HorsePlayer Magazine and Trainer Magazine. She then spent seven years at HRTV and HRTV.com in various roles as researcher, programming assistant, producer and social media and marketing manager.
She has also walked hots and groomed runners, worked the elite sales in Kentucky for top-class consignors and volunteers for several racehorse retirement organizations, including CARMA.
In 2016, Margaret was the recipient of the prestigious Stanley Bergstein Writing Award, sponsored by Team Valor, and was an Eclipse Award honorable mention for her story, “The Shocking Untold Story of Maria Borell,” which appeared on USRacing.com. The article and subsequent stories helped save 43 abandoned and neglected Thoroughbreds in Kentucky and also helped create a new animal welfare law known as the “Borell Law.”
Margaret’s very first Breeders’ Cup was at Hollywood Park in 1984 and she has attended more than half of the Breeders’ Cups since. She counts Holy Bull and Arrogate as her favorite horses of all time. She lives in Pasadena with her longtime beau, Tony, two Australian Shepherds and one Golden Retriever.
