Classy Act shows stamina to go with her speed

When trainer Bret Calhoun saw the half-mile fraction in the second race last Friday at Fair Grounds pop up, 46.35 seconds, he figured his pacesetting trainee Classy Act would run out of gas. Instead, Classy Act probably ran her way into the Rachel Alexandra Stakes on Feb. 17 at Fair Grounds.

Classy Act, a 3-year-old filly, was part of a first-level allowance race being contested at one mile and 70 yards, and at Fair Grounds, a half-mile split under 47 seconds typically spells certain doom.

“When I saw how fast she was going, I figured she was cooked,” Calhoun said.

But the Fair Grounds main track was very tight and fast this past Friday night, and Classy Act put away her pace rival, Go Google Yourself, and pulled away to win by 2 1/2 lengths. Her raw time of 1:42.08 was extremely sharp, and the performance produced a 79 Beyer Speed Figure. That’s more good than great, but it’s worth keeping in mind that Stronger Than Ever’s winning Beyer from the Silverbulletday Stakes on Jan. 13 was a 76.

Classy Act, who is owned by Carl Moore, is by Into Mischief and out of the Distorted Humor mare Acting Class. She was second by a nose, then a neck, to start her career last year before running poorly third time out in a Churchill Downs one-turn mile. Calhoun fitted Classy Act with blinkers, and the filly won a two-turn Fair Grounds grass maiden race. She more than transferred that form to dirt last week.

“Blinkers were a positive move,” Calhoun said. “I was reluctant to put them on at first, and I held back. Working, she’s average horse by herself, but put her behind horses with a target and she looks like a good horse. Her mind tends to drift, and she can be a little spooky, a little intimidated at times. With blinkers, she’s been much more focused and much braver.”