Ways and Means to miss Ballerina with fever
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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Ways and Means, who likely would have been favored in the Grade 1 Ballerina Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 23, will be forced to miss that race after developing a fever, trainer Chad Brown said Thursday.
“Temperature, treating her, and just bad timing,” explained Brown, who was forced to miss a workout last weekend with Ways and Means.
Ways and Means has recorded four of her five career wins at Saratoga, including the Grade 1 Test here last year and the Grade 2 Bed o’ Roses in June. In the Bed o’ Roses, which she won by 7 3/4 lengths, Ways and Means earned a 111 Beyer Speed Figure, equaling the best figure for any horse this year.
Last year, after winning the Test, Ways and Means won the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom at Aqueduct as a prep to get to the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, a race in which she finished fifth. She could be pointed to the Gallant Bloom, a 6 1/2-furlong race scheduled for Sept 27. Also, Churchill Downs has the $300,000 Open Mind Stakes for filly and mare sprinters at the same distance on Sept. 13.
The defection of Ways and Means likely opens up the Ballerina field a bit more. Among those expected to be entered on Sunday are Brightwork, who beat Ways and Means in the Grade 1 Spinaway in 2023, Claret Beret, Halina’s Forte, Hope Road, R Disaster, Scylla, and Zeitlos.
Meanwhile, Brown reported that his Grade 1 Diana-winning filly Excellent Truth is getting evaluated in Kentucky for a bruised foot. She was being pointed to the Grade 1 E.P. Taylor this weekend at Woodbine but had to miss that race.
“I sent her for precautionary tests just to make sure of the severity of the foot internally. She’s a very valuable horse,” Brown said. “I just couldn’t get her right, so I want to be sure. She’s back in Kentucky going through a few tests. She should be fine, but the timing was bad.”
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