Owner Ken Ramsey isn't exactly thrilled with the name of his horse, Kitten's Joy.

"It sounds like a feminine name," he said. "Maybe it would be better if we called him Fire Ball or something."

Oh, well. He's stuck with the name, given to the horse by his wife, Sarah, whose nickname is Kitten. The 3-year-old by El Prado is her joy, thus the name. But Ken Ramsey probably wouldn't care if the horse were called Girly Man, not with the year this turf monster is having.

In Kitten's Joy, American racing has something it hasn't had in an awful long: a star grass horse. Just a 3-year-old, he's 8-for-9 on the grass, has won six stakes races this year, is coming off a powerful win against older horses in the Grade I Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Belmont and is the even-money favorite to win Saturday's $2 million Breeders' Cup Turf.

"With the way he's been training, he'll have to have a bad trip or something," said the trainer, Dale Romans. "I don't want to sound overconfident or arrogant, but he's doing so well something unusual would have to happen for him to lose. It's a good feeling. I'm really relaxed because he is doing so well."

Normally, grass horses are about as exciting as a bologna sandwich on white bread. It takes a good dirt horse, preferably a 3-year-old, to generate some serious excitement in this game. Grass horses, meanwhile, are relegated to second-class status. But that hasn't been the case with Kitten's Joy. Have a year this good and people will have to pay attention.

"I'm glad to see this horse getting his due," said Romans, who will also start the Ramsey-owned Roses in May in the Breeders' Cup Classic. "You hardly ever see turf horses get much recognition. But everybody seems to know about him in America and he's getting quite a following in Europe, from what I hear."

What's all the fuss about? That might have been a legitimate question earlier in the year. Kitten's Joy won three straight stakes prior to the Kentucky Derby, but they were all on the grass and way, way out of the spotlight. Romans and Ramsey gave some thought to trying him in the Derby, but gave up after a dull workout on the grass.

"He just wasn't the same horse," Romans said. "He went okay, but he didn't have the same turn of foot acceleration. He'd be a good horse on the dirt, but nothing like he is on the grass. We won't try him again on the dirt."

As Smarty Jones was getting his picture on the cover of major magazines like ESPN the Magazine and Sports Illustrated, Kitten's Joy was running in anonymity in spots like the Jefferson Cup and the Virginia Derby. Finally, he won a Grade I race when romping in the Secretariat. Off that performance, he was made the second choice in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic.

Considering he was running against older horses for the first time and was facing Man o'War winner Magistretti, Kitten's Joy seemed to be in a tough spot. But he just toyed with the field., winning by 2 ˝ lengths while never seriously challenged late. Anyone who witnessed that race knew they had just seen a very good horse.

"He was like a motorcycle that day," Ramsey said. "You shift one gear, rev it up and then give it the gas. Each time this horse shifts gears, John Velazquez was right with him in rhythm. If you can gallop a mile and a quarter and then finish up in 22-and-3 like he did on a yielding turf course, well, you've got to believe he's going to be right there in the Breeders' Cup Turf."

Ramsey likes to bet and prides himself on his handicapping acumen. He says that Kitten's Joy is a single in the Breeders' Cup Pick Six. Obviously, he doesn't expect to lose.

A win would definitely mean a turf championship and maybe a Horse of the Year title, depending on the outcome of the Classic. Ramsey isn't afraid to think big. He's already got an ambitious schedule mapped out for next year, with a trip to Paris for the Arc de Triomphe as part of the itinerary.

"I want to take Kitten's Joy over to the Arc and showcase him in front of the Europeans," Ramsey said. "Europeans appreciate grass talent more than Americans do."

That's entirely true, but Kitten's Joy is making a pretty good case that a grass horse can be a star–even in America, even with a horse that's got a bit of a sissyish name.