Dances With Ashley out to shine for new barn

OCEANPORT, N.J. – Dances With Ashley makes her debut for trainer Bruce Levine in the $100,000 Dearly Precious Stakes for 3-year-old fillies on Friday at Monmouth Park. She also lands in a more forgiving spot in her first start for the new barn.

Last time out, Dances With Ashley tackled some of the top runners in the division in the Grade 1 Acorn Stakes at Belmont Park. She finished 11th, compromised by a poor start, a stretch out to one mile, and some very classy competitors. “She wound up down on the inside and she had shipped up from Florida,” Levine said. “It was a lot to overcome.”

At six furlongs, the Dearly Precious looks like an ideal spot to regroup for the winner of 4 of 6 starts, including a pair of stakes in Florida: the OBS Sprint in Ocala and the Sophomore Fillies at Tampa Bay Downs for trainer Marty Wolfson.

Dances With Ashley remained with Levine after the Acorn and was on target for this race in its scheduled spot last Sunday. When it failed to fill, the race office brought it back for Friday and it attracted eight entrants.

When the race didn’t go as planned, Levine breezed Dances With Ashley last Sunday, 52.04 for four furlongs at Belmont.

“When the race didn’t go, I just went an easy half-mile with her,” Levine said. “I just wanted to keep her on her toes a little bit, just let her stretch her legs a little bit. We lost almost a week when the race didn’t go.”

It was Dances With Ashley’s fourth breeze since the Acorn on June 5.

“She’s doing well,” Levine said. “She’s put some weight on. We’ll keep our fingers crossed and hope she runs well.”

Dances With Ashley will be reunited with Elvis Trujillo who was aboard for her win at Ocala.

The Dearly Precious attracted a well-balanced field that includes three last out winners: Beyondallboundarys, Simply Spiteful, and Offlee Blessed.

Whoopi Kitten is the least experienced runner in the field, having run only twice before. She captured her debut here in late May on the main track before stepping up to run second in the Crank It Up Stakes, a 5 1/2-furlong dash on the turf. Joe Bravo has the return call for trainer Patrick Biancone, a highly successful team this meet with a record of 5-6-1 from 18 starters.