Join in the Dance

2009 Prep Recap

Date	Trk	Race	Chart	Distance	Time	BSF	Video
2/14	GP	Allowance 37000	Chart	6 1/2 f	1:16	84	N/A
3/14	TAM	Tampa Bay Derby (G3)	Chart	1 1/16 m	1:43.67	90
4/11	Kee	Blue Grass (G1)	Chart	1 1/8 m	1:49	95

Profile by Steve Grabowski

STRENGTHS: He has plenty of early foot, and the horses he’ll face in the Kentucky Derby don’t contain much of that commodity. He just failed to last after being pressed the entire way in his initial route try in the Tampa Bay Derby. He ran reasonably well over the Churchill Downs main track in his debut effort last year and he worked sharply over the track earlier in the week.

WEAKNESSES: Front-runners have rarely won the Kentucky Derby in recent years. With his lone win coming at 5 1/2 furlongs, this guy hasn’t shown he can carry his speed two turns. His lifetime best Beyer Speed Figure is a handful of lengths slower than what it would take to be competitive in here, and his trainer, though clearly one of the best in the country, has yet to saddle a Kentucky Derby winner.

STRATEGY: With a lack of early foot in here, he’s likely going to be pushed to the top from the opening bell in an attempt to take the Kentucky Derby field as far as he can go.

VALUE: He’s likely to be a big price and warrants token interest from speed backers, but regardless of how long the odds are, his chances of winning the Kentucky Derby appear to be rather slim. – Steve Grabowski

Pedigree Analysis by Dan Illman

Dosage Profile:  5-4-14-1-0
Dosage Index:  2.00
Center of Distribution: 0.54
Auction:  $130,000 RNA yearling, $90,000 RNA juvenile

Sire:  A Grade 1 winner at two, Sky Mesa hails from a powerful family.  His dam, Caress, was a Grade 3 winner on both turf and dirt.  Other quality runners from this family include graded winners Country Cat, Bernstein, Wiseman’s Ferry, and champion juvenile filly Outstandingly.  Busanda, the dam of the legendary Buckpasser, is Sky Mesa’s fifth dam. 
Sky Mesa won races at distances ranging from six furlongs to 1 1/16 miles.

Dam:  Dance Darling, a $190,000 yearling purchase, was unraced, but several of her siblings earned blacktype.  Darling Danzig went 4-4 in her career sprinting including a win in the Just Smashing Stakes at six furlongs.  Misnomer won three stakes races between a mile and 1 1/16 miles. 
Join in the Dance’s second dam, Danzig Darling, was a stakes-winning sprinter.  Her three-quarter sister, Pennyhill Park, was a Grade 2 winner at 1 1/16 miles, and a Grade 3 winner at nine furlongs. 

Outlook:  Join in the Dance has some stamina in his pedigree, but the bloodlines seem geared more for sprints and middle distances.  His only career win came at 5 ½ furlongs, and that is a far cry from the 1 ¼ miles of the Derby.