Ballston Spa: Stylish again

Stylish won her third consecutive stakes in the $200,000 .

Stylish won the Grade 3 Ballston Spa by a half-length over the fast-closing Snow Dance, who broke in the air for the second race in a row. Cozzy Corner, the pacesetter, checked in third, a length behind Snow Dance in the nine-horse field of fillies and mares.

Stylish, under John Velazquez, was never far out of it, and she ran down Love n' Kiss S and Cozzy Corner in the final yards of the 1 1/16-mile grass race. Stylish ($19.40) covered the distance in 1:41.03 over a firm course.

Sea of Showers, the 6-5 favorite trained by Bobby Frankel, finished last. Jerry Bailey, Sea of Showers's rider, said the filly was behaving strangely.

"She almost propped at the three-sixteenths pole and was nervous in the post parade," Bailey said.

Velazquez said he had clear sailing with Stylish. "It went perfectly," said Velazquez. "When I pulled her out at the quarter pole, she was right there for me."

Bill Mott trains Stylish, a 5-year-old daughter of Thunder Gulch, for the estate of the late Ahmed bin Salman.

Stylish has proven to be a versatile runner. In June, she won the Lady Canterbury Breeders' Cup at Canterbury Park over a firm course. A month later, Stylish won the Grade 3 Eatontown Handicap at Monmouth Park on a course labeled soft.

With her win in the Ballston Spa, Stylish has a record of 8-6-5 in 23 starts and earnings of $575,687.

* Country Romance won the $76,200 Victory Ride Stakes by a half-length over She's Zealous. Ebony Breeze finished third, three-quarters of a length behind She's Zealous in the six-furlong race for 3-year-old fillies. Country Romance ($23.80), ridden by Jorge Chavez and trained by D. Wayne Lukas, covered the distance in 1:09.62 over a fast track.