R Disaster back on her game with win in Gallant Bloom

ELMONT, N.Y. - In a span of 76 seconds Thursday afternoon at Belmont Park, R Disaster may have saved her racing career and likely earned a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.

Taking control soon after the start under Jose Ortiz, R Disaster led all the way and fended off a mild stretch bid from Senza Parole to win the Grade 2, $250,000 Gallant Bloom Stakes by 1 1/4 lengths. Senza Parole finished second by 4 1/4 lengths over Beauty Reigns.

The win was a bounce-back effort from the Grade 1 Ballerina, where, even though her connections thought she was a bit short, R Disaster finished a dull sixth, beaten 15 1/2 lengths by Ways and Means. Richard Averill, part owner of R Disaster, said another poor performance Thursday could have led to retirement for the 5-year-old mare he owns in partnership with Anthony Mattera.

“We came here on a three-day trip. I’m not going to spend three days here if I didn’t think she was going to win,” Averill said. “But I also did say this could be her last race. She doesn’t owe us anything. If she didn’t do that, she was probably going to be retired.”

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R Disaster looked like the lone speed on paper and that’s the way it played out in the race. Breaking from the outside post in a five-horse field, R Disaster opened up a 1 1/2-length lead after an opening quarter in 22.67 seconds. Munnings Express got within a half-length after a half-mile in 45.78 seconds, but R Disaster kicked away turning for home and held Senza Parole at bay late.

“She looked like she was the fastest horse in the race, so we went out there to control and she was good enough to win,” Ortiz said. “The fractions weren’t very fast. She was traveling well so we were the best today.”

R Disaster, a 5-year-old Florida-bred daughter of Awesome Slew trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., covered the 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:16.17 and returned $3.02 as the overwhelming favorite. She now has a career record of 10-6-1 from 18 starts and has earned $1,468,265.

R Disaster won the Gallant Bloom for the second consecutive year, a feat accomplished only by multiple champion Indian Blessing (2008-09). R Disaster did not run in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint last year, Averill said, because he, Mattera, and Joseph didn’t think she was up for it.

Averill said he was hoping for a big campaign from R Disaster this year. She won the Grade 3 Hurricane Bertie, then finished third in the Grade 1 Madison before beating Ways and Means in the Grade 1 Derby City Distaff, Averill’s first Grade 1 victory.

But R Disaster had some issues in the summer, and was forced to miss the Honorable Miss in July before running poorly in the Ballerina.

“If she’s 100 percent I think she deserves a chance to run in that race,” Averill said of the BC Filly and Mare Sprint. “I think Ways and Means is definitely the horse to beat, she’s going to be tough, but she’s not the same horse outside of Saratoga. R Disaster has a race in her belly that she could win the Breeders’ Cup.”

Ways and Means is trained by Chad Brown, who also trains Senza Parole. Despite her game second in the Gallant Bloom, Senza Parole will not be considered for the Breeders’ Cup.

“She had every chance to go get the winner today who’s a proven high-level horse and she couldn’t quite get there,” Brown said. “I think she’s a really nice filly, but she’s not ready to jump up to a Grade 1 yet. But I think there’s some graded stakes with her name on it.”

Behind Senza Parole were Beauty Reigns, Munnings Express, and Queen Jubilee. Paradise City was scratched, as she was sent to California to run in Saturday’s Grade 3 Chillingworth Stakes at Santa Anita.

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