Danzatrice earns shot at Houston Ladies Classic

Two summers ago, Danzatrice hinted at very high-level ability, and she flashed the same talent winning the $50,000 Tiffany Lass Stakes last Monday at Fair Grounds. Danzatrice won the two-turn dirt race by more than seven lengths over Grade 1 winner Include Betty, and her strong mile and 70-yard time of 1:42.45 produced a career-best 93 Beyer Speed Figure.

The eye-catching performance has earned Danzatrice a shot at one of the better older females in the country, I’m a Chatterbox, in the Grade 3, $400,000 Houston Ladies Classic, trainer Steve Asmussen said Thursday.

“We were trying to use the race to get her to Houston,” said Asmussen. “She’s a nice filly, very easy to be around, and she’s trained consistently. I think the Houston race is a nice opportunity.”

I’m a Chatterbox, most recently fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, worked a half-mile on Wednesday at Fair Grounds and figures to be an odds-on favorite in the Ladies Classic. Florent Geroux rode Danzatrice on Monday, but is I’m a Chatterbox’s regular rider and obviously would stick with her.

Danzatrice finished a decent fourth in the Grade 1 Acorn in 2015, but after one more start went to the sidelines for more than a year. When she returned it was in a new barn, and, just seeking a starting point for the filly, Asmussen sent Danzatrice to Delta Downs for a winning comeback run in an allowance race. She returned with a third-place stakes finish there, probably bouncing second time out, before making a solid forward move in her third post-layoff race in the Tiffany Lass.

Meanwhile, Asmussen on Dec. 24 gave Lookin At Lee his first timed workout since a fourth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Lookin At Lee, a son of Lookin At Lucky, went a half-mile in 52.20 seconds.

“No specific plans, but he’ll probably come back in February, around Risen Star or Southwest time,” Asmussen said. “He had plenty of races as a 2-year-old. He obviously stays. We’ll wait until they go a little further is my plan.”

Lookin At Lee raced six times at age 2, winning twice.

Asmussen also is making plans to separate his better 3-year-old fillies in early-season stakes. Untapped is penciled in for the Silverbulletday Stakes at Fair Grounds, while Golden Mischief and Ever So Clever could wind up making their 3-year-old debuts at Oaklawn Park, he said.