Flavien Prat sports the Klaravich silks aboard Ways and Means. (Chris Rahayel)
Jon Forbes
Ways and Means, a winner of five of six starts at Saratoga Race Course, will attempt to land another major prize at the Spa when she competes in Saturday’s Grade 1, $500,000 Resorts World Casino Ballerina.
The seven-furlong Ballerina [Race 12] for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up is a “Win and You’re In” qualifier for the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint on October 31 at Keeneland and is part of a 14-race card headed by the Grade 1, $1.25 million DraftKings Travers [Race 13]. A stacked program also includes the Grade 1, $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial [Race 8], Grade 1, $500,000 Forego [Race 11], Grade 1, $500,000 Personal Ensign [Race 9], and Grade 2, $400,000 Lake Placid [Race 10]. The Forego [Dirt Mile] and Personal Ensign [Distaff] are also part of the Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” Challenge Series. First post is scheduled for 11:05 a.m. Eastern.
As a 2-year-old, Ways and Means debuted a winner at Saratoga before finishing second in the Grade 1 Spinaway, her lone loss at the Spa to date. After finishing fourth in the 2024 Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks, she returned to Saratoga that summer to win a one-mile entry-level allowance and the Grade 1 Test. She has raced exclusively in sprints since then.
Ways and Means, a Klaravich Stables homebred, concluded her 3-year-old season with a win in the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom at Belmont at the Big A and a fifth in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. She made two starts as a 4-year-old, finishing third in the slop in the Grade 1 Derby City Distaff and airing by 7 3/4-lengths in the Grade 2 Bed o’ Roses at Saratoga. This year, the 5-year-old daughter of Practical Joke finished second to the reopposing R Disaster in the Grade 1 Derby City Distaff before she tracked Grand Job and made a determined charge to land a repeat score by a nose in the Grade 2 Bed o’ Roses presented by Boldyn Networks locally June 5.
Five-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown said he has campaigned Ways and Means this year with another try in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint in mind.
“I like her with time [between starts],” said Brown. “She ran so good off a layoff last time, keeps her fresh for the Breeders’ Cup. She’s one of the top horses in the division. She’s battled through adversity with some physical issues, some illness, but she’s still here at age five at the top level.”
Brown trained both Ways and Means’ sire Practical Joke, winner of the 2017 Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial; and dam Strong Incentive, who in 2015 won a stakes at Woodbine for Ontario-breds. Practical Joke and Strong Incentive were owned in part by Klaravich Stables.
“[Ways and Means is] one of the best-looking horses to ever walk in this barn,” said Brown. “She’s one of the most talented dirt fillies to walk in this barn. Being a homebred – and we don’t breed that many horses for Klaravich – I trained the father and the mother, it would be extra special and rewarding if she could cap off her career at the Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland.”
Flavien Prat, aboard Ways and Means for all five of her prior wins at Saratoga, will ride the bay mare from post 7.
Trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. entered three runners in the Ballerina, led by Derby City Distaff winner R Disaster [post 10, Tyler Gaffalione], who races for Averill Racing and ATM Racing.
Last year at Saratoga, R Disaster was second in the Honorable Miss before winning an optional claimer later in the meet. She won the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom in September at Belmont at the Big A in September before ending her season with a second, beaten a head, in the Listed Dream Supreme at Churchill Downs. The daughter of Awesome Slew launched her 5-year-old campaign with a 5 1/2-length win in the Grade 3 Hurricane Bertie in March at Gulfstream Park, tired to third in the Grade 1 Madison in April at Keeneland, and led at every call when taking the Derby City Distaff in May.
“That was amazing,” said Joseph, Jr. of R Disaster’s victory in the Derby City Distaff. “We had gone into the Madison feeling like we would do it, and then we got beat. We got a Grade 1 placing, and that was big, but it was disappointing because we felt we had a chance to win it. We weren’t even going to go to Churchill – we shipped her back to Florida and then the race looked like it wasn’t coming up as big. Ways and Means was coming off a layoff and Splendora missed a work, so we said, ‘you know what, let’s give it a try.’ She showed up and ran big that day.”
The Ballerina will be R Disaster’s first start since the Derby City Distaff 17 weeks ago.
“The plan was to always give her a break [after the Derby City Distaff] and then go to the [Grade 2] Honorable Miss [on July 26 at Saratoga] and the Ballerina, but we got a little setback and had to miss the Honorable Miss and it put us a little behind schedule,” said Joseph, Jr.. “We’re coming back without a prep, which is not ideal, but she’s a filly that has run well fresh a lot of the time and hopefully it works out again.”
Also returning off a layoff is Red Storm Stable, Miller Racing, and Flower Power Stables’ Grammy Girl [post 5, Javier Castellano], who was last seen finishing a distant second to eventual Honorable Miss presented by Mionetto winner and returning Ballerina rival Maida in the Alma North on June 27 at Laurel Park. The loss ended a three-race winning streak for Grammy Girl, who entered the Alma North off victories in the Willa On the Move at Laurel last November, the Grade 3 Distaff in April at Aqueduct Racetrack, and the Grade 3 Vagrancy in May at Belmont at the Big A.
“We ran her in those two Grade 3s [at Aqueduct]. Then, we tried to pick an easy spot, which we didn’t do a good job of because we went to Laurel and we ran into Maida,” said Joseph, Jr. “That horse ran huge and then to see her come back and win the Honorable Miss, we’re like, ‘OK, I just picked a bad spot.’ The plan was to pick an easy spot – which it didn’t turn out to be – and then bring her back in the Resorts World Casino Ballerina and try to get a Grade 1 placing. In hindsight, we look back at the Laurel race and say, ‘OK, at least a good horse beat us.’”
Paradise City [post 9, Edgard Zayas], who competed primarily in route races as a 3-year-old and was second by a nose in the Grade 3 Winter Memories on turf at Belmont at the Big A last November, is unbeaten in two dirt sprint starts this year at four. Owned by C2 Racing Stable and Shining Stables, Paradise City cleared the second allowance condition in an optional claiming race in June at Churchill Downs before making a successful venture to Prairie Meadows to win the Saylorville on July 10.
“[Paradise City is a] filly that we thought a lot of as a 2-year-old, and she never showed as much as we thought,” said Joseph, Jr.. “Then she got on the grass and got a graded placing, and this year, she was training good again on dirt and we decided to bring her back on the dirt. She won, we kept her on it, she won again, and she’s a filly that is improving. She has to obviously improve again.
“She likes to be covered up on the dirt, which is weird for a dirt filly, but she likes you to ride her like a turf horse,” the trainer added. “She keeps doing better, she’s training very good, and it would be nice to pick up a Grade 1 placing. That’s the goal, and you never know. If the race goes quicky and they come back to her, she might pick it all up.”
Eclatant [post 12, Manny Franco], which is French for “brilliant,” has been living up to her name as of late for dual Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox. Winner of the Grade 3 Forward Gal as a sophomore, the Stonestreet Stables homebred is unbeaten in three starts so far as a 4-year-old. After returning from an eight-month absence to win an optional claimer in February at Gulfstream, she successfully jumped up in class to win the Grade 1 Madison by a nose in April at Keeneland, then demonstrated her mettle once again when posting a game head victory in the Grade 2 Chicago on June 20 at Churchill Downs.
Another Resorts Ballerina entrant who is undefeated this year is the aforementioned Maryland-based 4-year-old Maida [post 8, Sheldon Russell], a front-running winner of the the Alma North and Grade 2 Honorable Miss presented by Mionetto. She has trained at Laurel for Brittany Russell since her Honorable Miss triumph. At 3, Maida won the Weather Vane in September at Laurel before concluding her 3-year-old season with a sixth after breaking slowly in the Grade 2 Raven Run in October at Keeneland, her only start at seven furlongs to date.
Trainer Rusty Arnold will be represented in the Ballerina by Kilwin and Echo Sound, a pair of stakes winners at 2, 3, and 4 who both own a graded victory in a sprint at Saratoga.
Kilwin [post 2, Jose Ortiz] seeks her second Grade 1 win at the Spa, having won last year’s Test presented by Ticketmaster. She was second in the Grade 2 Music City on turf at Kentucky Downs in her final start of 2025 and successfully opened her 4-year-old account by rallying from last of six to win the Twin Bridges on July 19 at Ellis Park. Kilwin races for owner B B N Racing and Rick Howard.
Last year, Gabriel Duignan’s Echo Sound [post 1, Luis Saez] won the Grade 3 Miss Preakness at Pimlico Race Course and the Grade 3 Victory Ride at Saratoga before finishing seventh, 7 3/4 lengths behind Kilwin, in the Test. She was a well-beaten seventh in the Grade 3 Dogwood in September at Churchill Downs but launched her 4-year-old season in style, drawing clear to a 7 1/2-length win in the Regret, which was contested in the slop on July 18 at Monmouth Park.
Looking to double her Grade 1 tally is the New York-bred Usha [post 4, John Velazquez, blinkers ON], who won last year’s Grade 1 La Brea in December at Santa Anita for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.
Usha, bred by Esler and Raine, made three starts at Churchill Downs this spring, finishing third in the Derby City Distaff, winning the Grade 3 Winning Colors by a head later in May, and fading to seventh in the Chicago one month later. She prepped locally for the Ballerina with an even third against New York-breds in the Johnstone on August 5. By 2020 Travers winner Tiz the Law, Usha will carry the colors of Michael Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman in the Ballerina, a race Baffert has won three times [2018, Marley’s Freedom; 2021 Gamine; 2025 Hope Road].
Munnings Express [post 3, Jose Lezcano], winner of 6-of-12 lifetime, earned her first stakes victory with her 1 3/4-length score in the Johnstone. Trained by Linda Rice for Team Spoor, the Ballerina will be the 4-year-old daughter of Munnings graded stakes debut. She was bred in the Empire State by Fergus Galvin, Marc Detample, Jayne Johnson and Adrian Wallace.
Beauty Reigns [post 11, Junior Alvarado], second in the Victory Ride and third in the Test last year, returns to graded competition after winning an optional claimer July 23 at Saratoga. Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott for Tranquility Lake Farms, the 4-year-old daughter of Into Mischief won an optional claimer in May at Churchill Downs prior to finishing fifth in that venue’s Chicago in June.
Completing the field is Kappa Kappa [post 6, Paco Lopez], winner of the 2025 Grade 2 Raven Run at Keeneland for trainer Butch Reid, Jr, who co-owns the filly with LC Racing. In three starts this year, she was fourth in the Listed Skipat in May at Laurel, first in an optional claimer in July at Parx, and fifth in the Honorable Miss.
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