With The Moonlight waltzes to victory in Balanchine
With The Moonlight swamped seven rivals in the featured Balanchine Stakes on Friday at Meydan, winning the Group 2, $180,000 fixture by four lengths.
A three-quarter length winner of the Cape Verdi on Feb. 3, her first start since a second-place finish Aug. 20 at Saratoga in the Lake Placid, With The Moonlight got a perfect trip pressing the slow pace of Lyrical Poetry in this one-turn, 1,800-meter turf contest. Pulling slightly but really only just eager to be let loose, With The Moonlight assumed command in upper stretch and went on to a dominant victory under William Buick.
“She’s really getting the hang of it now,” Buick said. “She has a good bit of class and does everything the right way.”
With an assist from the dawdling tempo, Lyrical Poetry held second by a nose over Ascot Brass.
Trained by Charlie Appleby for Godolphin, With The Moonlight is a 4-year-old daughter of Frankel and the Dubawi mare Sand Vixen. That probably is all for her this winter in Dubai, and connections could target American races this summer as they did in 2022.
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