Danse Macabre caps Danner's day with head victory in Herecomesthebride
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HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - It wasn’t just the familiar parade of Todds and Chads making multiple visits to the winner’s circle Saturday at Gulfstream. Kelsey Danner also made two such appearances, most notably after Danse Macabre pulled a 12-1 upset of the Grade 3 Herecomesthebride under ship-in jockey Adam Beschizza.
“It was probably my best day as a trainer,” said Danner, “although winning at Kentucky Downs with this same filly last fall was pretty good, too,” referring to the $306,900 winner’s share from the Untapable Stakes last September. “She’s the star of the stable.”
Danse Macabre, owned by NBS Stable and Elements Racing, held on tenaciously in a close three-way photo in the one-mile Herecomesthebride, her first race beyond 6 1/2 furlongs. Instead of running her next in the 7 1/2-furlong Sanibel Island on the April 1 Florida Derby card at Gulfstream, Danner said the 3-year-old daughter of Army Mule will turn back to 5 1/2 furlongs in the Limestone on April 14 on the Keeneland turf.
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Danner, 36, comes by her horsemanship naturally, as she’s a third-generation trainer on both sides of her family. Her father, Mark, is a retired trainer who lives in Louisville, Ky., with her mother, Kelly, who has spent most of her life on the racetrack and is a longtime employee of Churchill Downs, where she works in horsemen’s relations. Kelly’s father, the late Harry Holcomb, was a trainer based in northern Kentucky.
Danner, who worked for years as an exercise rider and assistant for Wayne Catalano before running her first winner in 2018, also won the first of 12 Saturday races when Smokin’ Jay (9-1) got a career-best 95 Beyer Speed Figure in winning a five-furlong turf allowance under Tyler Gaffalione. The 5-year-old gelding was returning from a seven-month layoff.
“It was a great day, no doubt,” she said. “My phone was blowing up.”
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