With Early On digging in gamely to her inside, the duo engaged in an intense battle in the final furlong before Ballerina d’Oro got her nose down. (Janet Napolitano)
Brown trainee earns Kentucky Oaks berth with G3 victory at the Big A
By Lynne Snierson
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Rodeo Creek Racing’s Ballerina d’Oro turned in a determined performance to capture Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Gazelle – a nine-furlong test for 3-year-old fillies – to earn her place on the dance card for the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on the first Friday in May.
The sophomore filly – trained by five-time Eclipse Award winner Chard Brown and ridden by Dylan Davis – compiled 100 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points to add to the 16.25 points she previously earned. The point boost came thanks to a nose victory over the gutsy New York-bred Early On, while Deloraine was another 5 3/4 lengths in back.
Early On [50 Oaks points], Deloraine [25], Vanilla Sundae [15] and fifth-place Pure Beauty [10] points all picked up points from the six-horse field. Diriyah, who completed the order of finish, was never a factor in the outcome. Late Nite Call and Liam in the Dust scratched.
Ballerina d’Oro began her career as a turf runner before Brown switched her to dirt for a runner-up finish in the Grade 2 Demoiselle at the 1 1/8 distance over this track in December. In the 130th running of the Gazelle, she rated patiently behind the modest splits of 24.10 seconds for the quarter-mile, 48.36 for the half set by Vanilla Sundae on the track labeled fast.
Early On pressed to take command with three-quarters going in 1:12.66. Once Vanilla Sky had thrown in the towel in the far turn, she made a bold move to the outside at the top of the lane and looked as though she would power on home by daylight. But Ballerina d’Oro, who was making her third start on the dirt, benefitted from Davis’ ability to gather her up and switch leads.
With Early On digging in gamely to her inside, the duo engaged in an intense battle in the final furlong before Ballerina d’Oro got her nose down in the final time of 1:50.67.
The 3-5 favorite returned $3.40 on a $2 win wager.
“It was a very strong performance,” Brown said. “She was a little green down the lane there hanging on her left lead and leaning in a little bit. Although she has done it occasionally in her races and in the mornings, she did it a little more than I thought she would today. Nevertheless, Dylan did a great job to finally get her straightened out, she caught that right lead very late in the race and finally persevered by a tough customer down on the inside. I’m appreciative of that.”
Ballerina d’Oro, bred in Kentucky by Rock Ridge Thoroughbreds, was making her second start off a three-month layoff during which time she missed training with a fever. In her first start of the year, she ran third in the Grade 2 Davona Dale at Gulfstream Park on March 1. In the Gazelle she was closer to the pace.
“She is a work in progress,” Brown said. “I think she got a good hard race under her belt. I’m not sure how much she got out of the Gulfstream race, and she missed some training. This race, she’ll get a lot out of it and hopefully she can build off of it. She will need to, to be competitive in the Kentucky Oaks, but I think she has the talent to be.
“With some of the scratches in the race and the way it looked on paper, I thought maybe Manny Franco’s horse [Vanilla Sundae], was going to get loose on the lead there,” Brown added. “I said, ‘Don’t be afraid to follow that horse to the turn and sit right behind her if nobody goes.’ A couple of horses kept her honest, beautiful trip, no complaints there, she just needs to work on finishing her races off a little smoother with her leads.”
Davis said he followed instructions to the letter.
“I actually wanted to be there [where he was down the backstretch] with the scratches of the couple speed that came out of there. Broke nice and clean, was able to get a perfect spot clear and in between them. I thought she would really go on a little more, but she was tough on her leads today, so I was able to switch her over and she fought off Early On, who is a nice filly as well. If she could have switched over a little earlier for me, I think she would have went on with a few lengths to victory,” the rider said. “She lugged in with me. She was shying in, and I was using that to try and help her switch her leads over.”
Hall of Famer Javier Castellano, who was aboard Early On, was impressed with the Saffie Joseph, Jr. trainee and the heart she displayed in earning her Oaks points.
“She fought all the way to the end and the one to beat her was a good horse,” he said. “We don’t have any excuses, but we had a beautiful trip and were in a perfect position. We were just second-best. She was right there, and she didn’t give up. I liked how she fought all the way to the wire. She’s a competitive horse. I’m competitive too, and we almost got it done. I like how she did it today. She galloped out well and did it nice and easy. I give a lot of credit to the trainer, and I think she can get even better going forward.”
Fellow Hall of Famer Mike Smith, who guided Rodriguez to victory in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino for enshrined trainer Bob Baffert later on the card, gave high marks to the Eoin Harty-trained Deloraine.
“I was proud of her. She tried as hard as she could, she really did. The pace wasn’t very quick, so I thought, ‘Let’s just leave her up here and see what happens.’ I thought off her past performances she’d have to do something she’s never done to have a chance. So, I went for it and she ran well. She just couldn’t beat them, that’s all,” Smith said.
Live racing resumes Sunday with a 10-race card that features the $125,000 Biogio’s Rose in Race 4 and the $125,000 Haynesfield in Race 9. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.
