You can’t wager on cutting events, but if you could, Lynnies Cat would have been a good pick for the exotics in the Memphis Open Classic on Thursday night.

Ridden by Tag Rice (pictured) for Sam Good, Mansfield, TX, the 6-year-old gelded son of High Brow Cat scored 225 points to claim his second major win in a limited age event. Red Money Merada, ridden by Austin Shepard for Khader and Dora Daoud, Baker, FL, was second with 222 points.

Lynnies Cat earned his first big check, when he placed 10th under Good in the 2005 NCHA Super Stakes. He had also been a finalist in the Augusta Futurity, placed 4th in the Super Stakes Gelding Finals, and was 3rd in the Brazos Bash.

At five, he was reserve champion in both the Open and Non-Pro divisions of the Abilene Spectacular; won the Non-Pro Breeders Invitational; and was Brazos Bash Non-Pro reserve champion. He also won money under Good, Rice and Eddie Flynn as a finalist in other events. But the Memphis Classic win gave Lynnies Cat his single biggest paycheck – $20,206 – to boost his lifetime earnings to $148,181.

Lynnies Cat came into Memphis off of an 18th-place finish in the Abilene Spectacular Open with Rice. He drew late in the Memphis Classic, as the 31st horse in the 33-horse finals, with Red Money Merada’s 222-point score to beat. Major money earner and Abilene Spectacular winner Quintan Blue, ridden by Roger Wagner, had scored 212 points immediately before Lynnies Cat’s run; Lynx Of Style, with 219.5 points under John Mitchell, stood at reserve with 219.5 points.

The top four marks of the night included the 217.5-point scores earned by Cat T Masterson, ridden by Tag Rice for Jack and Susan Waggoner, and Credible Cat, with Phil Hanson for Lazy H Ranch of Thorp.

Woody Be Tuff, recent winner of the Augusta Open Classic, placed 11th with 215.5 points under Austin Shepard.

The Memphis Futurity continues through Tuesday, February 6. Here’s a look at the Classic finalists (in order of finish) and their earnings: