Touching Promise heads home for winter, while Madeira Park retired

Touching Promise is heading home for the winter after upsetting Madeira Park in the Grade 3, $100,000 Ballerina last Monday. Considering that she finished third in the 1 1/8-mile race last year as a 3-year-old and was coming off a solid effort in an allowance race Sept. 27, she was a bit of an overlay at greater than 13-1.

Trainer Barbara Heads wasn’t surprised that she ran so well.

“She has been getting better all year, and I think the track was favoring horses that were in contention early,” she said.

With Mario Gutierrez aboard, Touching Promise never was worse than second in the Ballerina.

“She just skipped over the track,” said Gutierrez.

Trainer Dave Forster said Madeira Park has been retired and will be sent to Kentucky to be bred by owners George Gilbert and Raymond Hanson. Forster was considering the Grade 2, $200,000 Falls City at Churchill Downs as a possible last start for the Grade 3 stakes winner, who won nine races and earned $318,992.

“She’s done enough, and she was favoring an ankle a little after the race,” said Forster.

Madeira Park’s half-sister, Ambleside Park, won the $75,000 Fantasy for 2-year-old fillies for Forster earlier on Monday’s card.

“We’ll give Ambleside Park the rest of the year off,” said Forster. “She should make a nice 3-year-old.”