Dash Dot Dash right back trying route
POMONA, Calif. - Dash Dot Dash rebounded from a sixth-place finish in the Grade 3 Sorrento Stakes at Del Mar in August to win the Bustles and Bows Stakes at Fairplex Park on Sept. 6.
Trainer Vladimir Cerin is not waiting to try the promising filly again. Dash Dot Dash will attempt to sweep Fairplex's stakes for 2-year-old fillies in Wednesday's $65,000 Black Swan Stakes at 1 1/16 miles.
Cerin thinks that the Black Swan distance will be an asset for Dash Dot Dash, who has won 2 of 4 starts.
"I'm hoping she can go two turns," he said. "I think she will be better. It looks like she's the speed of the race and hopefully the class."
Dash Dot Dash led throughout the Bustles and Bows, winning the 6 1/2-furlong race by three lengths. Cerin said it did not exact a toll on Dash Dot Dash, who is not considered a candidate for the major stakes for the division in coming months.
"There are not a whole lot of spots for her, so I don't mind running her back," he said.
Owned by Southern Comfort Stable, Dash Dot Dash beat maidens in her second start and was beaten 2 3/4 lengths in the Sorrento. Stardom Bound, the runner-up in that race, returned to win the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante on Sept. 1 and is a top candidate for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita on Oct. 24.
Cerin was not discouraged by Dash Dot Dash's Sorrento loss.
"She improved and she got beat less than three lengths," he said. "She didn't have a whole lot of seasoning, and that was her third start."
There is nothing comparable to Stardom Bound in the Black Swan field. The race drew a field of six, and three are still maidens - Daniella Roth, Grey Chatelaine, and Vikkilee, who is trained by Cerin. All three are making their first start in a stakes.
Atka and Marquee Player are winners, but they had mixed results in their last races. Atka, trained by Mike Harrington, was second in the Cinderella Stakes at Hollywood Park in May, but has been fourth or worse in three subsequent stakes. In her last start, she was fourth, beaten 7 3/4 lengths, in the Generous Portion Stakes for statebred females at Del Mar on Aug. 27.
Marquee Player beat maidens at Fairplex Park on Sept. 5 in her third career start.