World traveler Danceteria makes U.S. debut in wide-open feature
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – There are questions aplenty to answer in Wednesday’s $53,000 allowance feature at Gulfstream Park, not the least of which is what to expect from Danceteria in his U.S. debut.
A field of nine, including main-track-only Tatweej, was entered for the 1 1/8-mile turf event that shares top billing on a 10-race program that includes a $40,000 allowance dash for Florida-breds earlier on the card.
Danceteria was a Group 1 winner in Germany and a Group 3 winner in his native France in 2019 but did not hit the board in five starts last season when sent to Australia with designs at one point on the prestigious Melbourne Cup. He was sent to trainer Graham Motion at Fair Hill to prepare for a U.S. campaign during the fall before ultimately shipping to the Palm Meadows training center where he’s turned in three consecutive works on the grass.
“I think they thought a lot of him earlier in his career, he went down to Australia to point for the Melbourne Cup but apparently had a bleeding problem,” Motion said. “He will have the benefit of Lasix over here, at least until he gets into stakes company. He’s a very nice horse to be around, very professional, does things pretty handy. He’s been training very well, and I feel he should be plenty fit enough for his first start back on Wednesday.”
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Another question to answer in the main event is how will Endorsed and Identifier perform switching to turf after racing almost exclusively on dirt.
Endorsed will try grass for the first time after having made all 13 previous starts on dirt, winning four times while stakes placed on three other occasions, including the Grade 3 Westchester last June at Belmont Park. He is by the above-average turf sire Medaglia d’Oro and out of the Grade 1-winning mare Dance Card, who never started on grass. Endorsed is winless since defeating similarly conditioned allowance company last spring at Oaklawn Park.
Identifier finished off the board in his only previous grass outing here during the summer and returns to allowance company off a fifth-place finish in the Grade 3 Harlan’s Holiday. He is winless in five starts since upsetting the Grade 3 Hal’s Hope at 68-1 in March.
Artie’s Rumor rallied to finish fourth despite encountering plenty of traffic issues in the Claiming Crown Emerald while making his first start over the local course five weeks earlier. He is among the proven turf commodities in the race, along with Monarchs Glen, who ended his 2020 campaign on a winning note when rallying to a one-length allowance victory Nov. 25 at Gulfstream Park West.
The remainder of the field includes Perfect Speighty, Sand Dancer, and Phantom Currency, the latter returning to grass after setting the pace and fading badly to finish last in the Grade 1 Clark in his 2020 finale.