Ballet Dancing hits her stride in Santa Ana win

ARCADIA, Calif. -- All this time Ballet Dancing has yearned for distance.

After winning two of her first eight starts at a mile and 1 1/8 miles, Ballet Dancing performed brilliantly in her career debut at 1 1/4 miles, winning her first stakes in Sunday’s Grade 3 Santa Ana Stakes for fillies and mares on turf at Santa Anita.

From trainer Simon Callaghan’s perspective, Ballet Dancing was getting started when she reached the finish 3 1/2 lengths in front of 5-1 Queen Ofthe Temple.

“A mile and a half is what she wants,” he said. “She just stays.”

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Ridden by Flavien Prat, Ballet Dancing ($11.40) stalked pacesetter Annaghlasa through early fractions 47.01 seconds for the opening half-mile and 1:12.07 for six furlongs. On the turn, Prat moved Ballet Dancing closer to the front and took the lead in early stretch.

Ballet Dancing led by 2 1/2 lengths in the stretch. She was timed in 2:01.25.

“She jumped well,” Prat said. “It was really straightforward.”

Queen Ofthe Temple closed from sixth to finish a head in front of third-place finisher Duvet Day, a 5-1 chance who won the Astra Stakes at 1 1/2 miles on Jan. 21.

Buzz of New York, who was second with a furlong remaining, finished fourth, missing second by a head and a nose. Ascendancy, Annaghlasa, and Australia Mia completed the order of finish.

Harper’s Gallop and Myfavoritedaughter were scratched earlier on Sunday.

Australia Mia, a six-time stakes winner in Chile who was third in the Astra Stakes in her American debut, was the 3-2 favorite. Australia Mia stumbled at the start, but recovered to stalk the pace on the backstretch. She lugged out on the turn before fading from contention under jockey Frankie Dettori, who did not urge the 5-year-old mare in the final quarter-mile.

“She was hanging out really bad,” Dettori said. “I suspect she pulled something in her back.”

Ballet Dancing, a 4-year-old filly by Medaglia d’Oro, races for the Coolmore syndicate and Georg von Opel. The $101,000 Santa Ana Stakes was Ballet Dancing’s second win of the meeting. She won an allowance race at 1 1/8 miles on turf on Dec. 26 before finishing fourth in an allowance race at the same distance at 7-5 on Feb. 3.

Purchased for $800,000 as a yearling, Ballet Dancing has earned $191,060.

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