This Kats King and Sean Flynn (photo) won a hotly contested Southern Derby in Jackson, MS today with a 226.5 points, working midway through the second set of the 29-horse finals. NCHA Futurity winner and 7-time champion High Brow CD was second with 224.5 points under Austin Shepard; Playware and Roy Carter finished third with 223.

“I like everything about him,” said Flynn of This Kats King. “He’s cow smart and he can stop hard, and he reads a cow really well. His attitude and nature – he’s real easy to get along with.”

This was the first limited age event win for This Kats King, owned and bred by John Harrah, Reno, NV. The High Brow Cat son, lifetime earner of $46,000, placed second in the go-round with 222 points to High Brow CD’s 223-point go-round win.

The reserve champion’s paycheck nudged High Brow CD’s earnings to $497,398, ranking him among cutting’s top 20 all-time money earners, after just 10 months of showing. The High Brow Cat son is owned by Grace Ranch, Jennings, LA.

For results and pedigrees, click here.

Pair of “Cats” share Southern Classic crown
Cats Royal Jewel, ridden by Robert Rust, and Thomas E Hughes, with Austin Shepard, split the Southern Classic championship with 222-point performances. John Three Seventeen and Brad Mitchell placed third with 221.5.

Six-year-old gelding Cats Royal Jewel, owned by Rust, has earned nearly $140,000 in both limited age open and non-pro, as well as world championship competition. He was the 2006 NCHA Eastern National $3,000 Novice champion, as well as a Top 10 finalist in the 2007 NCHA $10,000 Novice World standings; champion of the 2006 Nebraska Open Futurity; and winner of the 2007 Bonanza Open.

Thomas E Hughes, a five-year-old owned by Shepard and his wife, Stacy, most recently won the Cotton Stakes Classic with Austin and the South Point Winter Classic with Stacy, and has lifetime earnings of over $185,000.

For results and pedigrees, click here.

The Southern Futurity continues through Friday, October 24.