Cay Dancer lands in softer spot for second U.S. start
Cay Dancer was fairly good in her North American debut, but not good enough. Chad Brown went back to the proverbial drawing board afterward, and 10 weeks later, Cay Dancer is back in the entries, dropping in class and prepared to make far more of an impact.
Cay Dancer was the 9-2 third choice among a field of 14 in the Grade 3 La Prevoyante on the Gulfstream Park turf in late December but was not a factor when finishing ninth, beaten 4 1/2 lengths by the winner, Irish Mission. Sent through seven workouts by Brown at the Palm Meadows training center in the interim, she could be favored in the $52,000 feature at Gulfstream Park, the second of two straight optional-claiming races for fillies and mares on turf Sunday at the south Florida track.
John Velazquez, who rode Irish Mission in winning the La Prevoyante, now accepts the call on Cay Dancer, who will break from post 10 in the 11th race, a 1 1/16-mile race sporting a third-level condition and a $100,000 claiming option. Twelve are entered, although the two horses outside of Cay Dancer will start only if the race is transferred to the main track.
First post Sunday is 12:30 p.m. Eastern, with the feature set for 5:30. The other optional claimer on the card, a $48,000, first-level optional $25,000 claiming event at 7 1/2 furlongs, directly precedes the feature as race 10.
After Sunday, Gulfstream goes dark for two days before a five-day week commences Wednesday.
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KEY CONTENDERS
Cay Dancer (Last Beyer: 84)
◗ Never made her presence felt when getting first-time Lasix in the La Prevoyante, but that was a particularly deep Grade 3 event, and she stands to benefit from the experience anyhow. The British-bred filly seemed to be making steady progress overseas prior to being sent to Brown.
Lori’s Store (Last 3 Beyers: 88-83-62)
◗ Useful sort will make her second start in the care of trainer Marty Wolfson after narrowly missing under similar conditions at 18-1 on the Feb. 7 Donn Handicap undercard. His gray mare has a late-running style that’s well suited to a race with plenty of pace.
Kitten’s Dumplings (Last 3 Beyers: 73-91-95)
◗ The winner of the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup for owners and breeders Ken and Sarah Ramsey in the fall of 2013, this mare has been lightly raced since then. Surely needed her last outing at Fair Grounds when making her first start in more than 14 months.
I O Ireland (Last 3 Beyers: 75-75-47)
◗ Team Block homebred has stakes experience aplenty and has shown herself to be better than her last few, including back-to-back outings as a beaten favorite.