Ce Ce back for second swing at the Ballerina; will carry 125 from post 1
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – One of the few blemishes on Ce Ce’s championship 2021 campaign came at Saratoga when she finished third in the Grade 1 Ballerina Handicap.
Ce Ce, a 6-year-old daughter of Elusive Quality trained by Michael McCarthy for owner Bo Hirsch, has returned to Saratoga to give the Ballerina another whirl on Sunday.
The $500,000 Ballerina, a Win and You’re In race for the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Keeneland on Nov. 5, drew a solid cast of seven, including Grade 1 winners Obligatory and Bella Sofia.
Though based in Southern California, Ce Ce has been a road warrior throughout her career. This year, she has made two starts at Oaklawn Park – winning the Grade 2 Azeri and finishing third in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom – and most recently won the Grade 2 Princess Rooney at Gulfstream Park by 6 1/2 lengths. She earned a 101 Beyer Speed Figure, equaling her career best.
“Coming in at the top of her game,” McCarthy said. “She’s had a series of solid works at Del Mar leading up to this, seems like she enjoys taking her game on the road. We’ll follow a similar game plan to the one we followed last year.”
Of course, McCarthy hopes to do a little better than last year when Ce Ce finished third, three lengths behind Gamine.
“Thought she ran okay, certainly didn’t embarrass herself,” McCarthy said. “Didn’t see much of an excuse last year.”
Ce Ce came out of the Ballerina to win the Grade 3 Chillingworth at Santa Anita by five lengths before upsetting Gamine in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.
While happy with how Ce Ce is entering the seven-furlong Ballerina, McCarthy was not thrilled with the fact she drew the rail. Victor Espinoza rides the 125-pound highweight.
“Races like this don’t figure to be easy,” McCarthy said. “You always like to be sitting outside and see what’s going on inside of you.”
Trainer Bill Mott has the trio of Obligatory, Caramel Swirl, and Travel Column in the Ballerina.
Obligatory is 2 for 3 this year with victories in the Grade 3 Hurricane Bertie and Grade 1 Derby City Distaff. She is coming out of a runner-up finish to Bella Sofia in the Bed o’ Roses where she had to lay closer to the pace than she prefers due to the lack of speed in that race.
“It was a big race for her, but it’s not the way she wants to run probably,” Mott said. “There was nobody in there to force the pace. She had to do it and almost won anyway.”
Jose Ortiz rides Obligatory from post 2.
Bella Sofia and Lady Rocket look as though they could engage in a hot pace duel.
Caramel Swirl is another who could benefit from a hot pace. Mott was hoping to run Caramel Swirl in the canceled Shine Again Stakes on Aug. 3. Thus, she enters this race having won just an allowance on May 20, her lone start this year.
“She ran pretty good fresh the last time,” Mott said. “We thought she would have looked pretty good in that spot.”
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Travel Column came off a 55-week layoff to win a third-level allowance at Churchill on June 29. Travel Column was a graded stakes winner at 2. Both of those races were around two turns.
Trainer Rudy Rodriguez has struggled through a 2 for 72 summer at Saratoga. That included a third-place finish by Bella Sofia at 3-5 in the Honorable Miss.
Rodriguez thought Luis Saez had Bella Sofia in a good stalking spot in the Honorable Miss, but she was no match for Kimari. Rodriguez said Bella Sofia prefers winging it early.
“That’s what we’re going to try to do, open up and if somebody goes with us let’s go and we’ll set the race up for somebody else,” Rodriguez said.
Lady Rocket, trained by Brad Cox, comes off a front-running victory in the Grade 3 Chicago at Churchill Downs on June 25. In last September’s Gallant Bloom, Lady Rocket chased Bella Sofia around the track, finishing second to that one.
Goodnight Olive, a winner of four consecutive races for trainer Chad Brown, makes her stakes debut in the Ballerina. Irad Ortiz Jr. rides from the outside post.