Dr B after her grade-making win in the Go For Wand (G3) last December (Joe Labozzetta)
NYRA Press Office
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.— Cash is King and LC Racing’s graded stakes winner Dr B will target next Saturday’s Grade 1, $500,000 Ballerina Handicap, a seven-furlong main track sprint for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up, at Saratoga Race Course. The Ballerina offers a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint in November at Santa Anita Park.
Trained by Butch Reid, Jr., Dr B last ran second in the Grade 2 Honorable Miss Handicap here on July 26. The six-furlong race was dominated by 2021 Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Echo Zulu, but Dr B battled to a strong second over formidable opponents in Frank’s Rockette and Maryquitecontrary.
“The Ballerina sounds like a crazy spot, coming up very tough, but she’s really doing well,” said Reid, Jr.. “I’ve been up here the last couple of days and my wife [and assistant, Ginny] did a great job with her. She looks spectacular and she’s going to have one more little breeze over the weekend.”
Before the Honorable Miss, the 5-year-old Liam’s Map bay ran fourth of five in the Grade 2 Bed o’ Roses on June 17 at Belmont Park. Her current campaign began with a second in the Grade 3 Vagrancy on May 14 at Belmont Park behind likely returning rival Caramel Swirl.
A winner of last year’s Grade 3 Go for Wand in December at Aqueduct, Dr B holds a lifetime record of 19-5-7-2 with $435,690 in earnings.
Reid, Jr. will send out Ninetyprcentmaddie in Tuesday’s Grade 3 Smarty Jones at Parx Racing, a 1 1/16-mile main track route for 3-year-olds. The Weigelia colt has hit the board in 5-of-6 starts this year, only missing in the Grade 3 Withers at Aqueduct in February. He last ran third in the Crowd Pleaser on June 26 at Parx, but worked back a sharp half mile in 48.76 seconds on August 15.
“We were disappointed with his last spot and he came back with a foot abscess. We worked on that and he just breezed brilliantly,” Reid, Jr. said. “We’ve always had high hopes since he was coming along as an early 3-year-old. I think he’s going to be a tough customer to deal with in there.”
Ninetyprcentmaddie is a Pennsylvania homebred for LC Racing, and sports a record of 10-4-2-2 with $245,730 in earnings.
Cash is King and LC Racing attempted to earn black type for Pistol Liz Ablazen when sending her out in the Grade 2 Shuvee on July 23 at the Spa. She led the four-horse field through the first half mile before being passed by the two heavy favorites in Nest and Clairiere.
The 4-year-old Daredevil filly was entered as main-track only in Race 2 on Thursday, an allowance optional claiming event, but scratched when the race remained on the turf.
“We took a crazy shot last time. We realized what we were up against. We were looking to get her some black type but unfortunately it didn’t work out. We’ll have to hunt for another spot, I’ll go over the books tonight,” explained Reid, Jr.
Pistol Liz Ablazen was a $30,000 purchase at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale.
