Ballet Dancing earned her first stakes victory in style, skipping clear to an authoritative victory in the GIII Santa Ana S. at Santa Anita Sunday. Stretching out to a 1 1/4 miles for the first time, the bay filly was away well and was in hand while stalking pacesetting longshot Annaghlasa (Ire) (Estidhkaar {Ire}) through fractions of :24.01, :47.22 and 1:12.07. Finally let loose into the far turn, she ricocheted to the lead off the turn and was quickly beyond the reach of all pursuers. Favored Australia Mia (Street Sense), making her second North American start, was stalking the pace, but fell back on the far turn before being eased at the top of the lane.
“This was certainly the distance we've been waiting for,” said winning trainer Simon Callaghan. “During her 3-year-old career, they pretty much kept the races at a mile and an eighth and that was just the bare minimum, so I think now as an older mare she's just going to flourish and I think these longer distances, a mile and a quarter and a mile and a half, they are going to be right in her wheelhouse.”
An $800,000 Keeneland September yearling, Ballet Dancing graduated going one mile of the Santa Anita turf last spring before finishing third in the GIII Honeymoon S. in May. She returned to the winner's circle with a 2 1/2-length victory in a Dec. 29 allowance and she was coming off a fourth-place effort in a nine-furlong optional claimer Feb. 3.
Pedigree Notes:
Ballet Dancing, the 90th worldwide graded winner for her sire, Medaglia d'Oro, is the fourth foal out of Fully Living, who was purchased by Ashview Farm for $425,000 at the 2011 Keeneland September sale and finished third for Ashview and Old Oak Farm in the 2012 GII Adirondack S. The mare, who is also the dam of last year's GII Suburban S. third-place finisher Untreated (Nyquist), produced a filly by Justify in 2021 and a filly by Tiz the Law in 2022 before being bred back to Constitution.
Richard Knight signed for the Justify filly for $1.05 million at last year's Keeneland September sale and she was one of six being reoffered by the sales company due to non-payment. The mare's once-raced 6-year-old daughter Night on the Town (Street Sense), in foal to Essential Quality, sold to Siena Farms for $450,000 at last year's Keeneland November sale.
The winner's third dam, Half Queen, produced champion Halfbridled (Unbridled).
Sunday, Santa Anita
SANTA ANA S.-GIII, $101,000, Santa Anita, 3-12, 4yo/up, f/m, 1 1/4mT, 2:01.25, gd.
1–BALLET DANCING, 120, f, 4, by Medaglia d'Oro
1st Dam: Fully Living (GSP, $172,417), by Unbridled's Song
2nd Dam: Half A. P., by Pulpit
3rd Dam: Half Queen, by Deputy Minister
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($800,000
Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Westerberg, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael
Tabor, & Derrick Smith; B-Ashview Farm & Old Oak
Farm (KY); T-Simon Callaghan; J-Flavien Prat. $60,000. Lifetime
Record: MGSP, 9-3-1-2, $191,060. *1/2 to Untreated
(Nyquist), MGSP, $291,433. Werk Nick Rating: B+. Click for
the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free
Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Queen Ofthe Temple, 120, m, 5, Temple City–Queenameina,
by Read the Footnotes. ($3,500 Ylg '19 FTKFEB; $14,000 RNA
Ylg '19 FTKOCT). O-Radley Equine, Inc., Roger Featherston,
Rick Gold & Tony Maslowski; B-Erv Woolsey & Ralph Kinder
(KY); T-Dan Blacker. $20,000.
3–Duvet Day (Ire), 122, f, 4, Starspangledbanner (Aus)–Je
T'Adore (Ire), by Montjeu (Ire). 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE.
(47,000gns Wlg '19 TATFOA; £45,000 Ylg '20 GOFOR; $72,000
3yo '22 KEEAPR). O-Jane Bacharach & Richard Schatz;
B-John Yarr (Ire); T-Michael W. McCarthy. $12,000.
Margins: 3HF, HD, NO. Odds: 4.70, 5.10, 5.70.
Also Ran: Buzz of New York (Ire), Ascendancy, Annaghlasa (Ire), Australia Mia. Scratched: Harper's Gallop, Myfavoritedaughter.Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
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