Ballerina rematch possible in Gallant Bloom

ELMONT, N.Y. – By the Moon and Highway Star, separated by a head in the Grade 1 Ballerina at Saratoga on Aug. 26, could meet again in the Grade 2, $300,000 Gallant Bloom Handicap at Belmont Park on Sept. 24.

Trainer Michelle Nevin said she and owner Samantha Siegel “haven’t decided yet” whether to use the Gallant Bloom as a stepping-stone for By the Moon to the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint. Last year, By the Moon finished second in the Ballerina and went straight to the Filly and Mare Sprint, where she finished fifth, beaten three lengths.

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Meanwhile, trainer Rodrigo Ubillo said the Gallant Bloom “is probably the plan right now” for Highway Star despite Ubillo’s feeling the 6 1/2 furlongs may be too short for his 4-year-old New York-bred filly.

“We know she’s better at seven furlongs or a mile, but she’s going to run good no matter what,” Ubillo said. “She likes her job; she likes to run.”

Ubillo noted that Highway Star hadn’t run for 77 days in between her third-place finish in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps and the Ballerina. If she didn’t run in the Gallant Bloom, Highway Star would have 70 days before the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint. If she does run, she would have six weeks to the Breeders’ Cup.

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