A slow start did nothing to hamper Come Dancing’s quick finish in the $480,000 Ketel One Ballerina Stakes.
A slow start did nothing to hamper Come Dancing’s quick finish in the $480,000 Ketel One Ballerina Stakes.
The 5-year-old daughter of Malibu Moon broke a step behind and chased four rivals early as Separationofpowers and Mia Mischief dueled for the advantage in the seven-furlong sprint. But jockey Javier Castellano immediately got 3-5 choice Come Dancing back into the game, and the dark bay mare galloped up to third as the half went in :45.86 after a :23.31 quarter.
“When I saw her just sit out there in third, I said, ‘She’s so comfortable,’ ” said trainer Carlos Martin. “When she gets into that comfortable rhythm, it means she has a lot left coming back.”
When the front-runners began to tire, Come Dancing easily took control at the head of the lane and increased her advantage to 3 ½ lengths at the finish line. Dawn the Destroyer was second, and Special Relativity finished third behind a final time of 1:21.48.—Claire Crosby