Step Dancer Becomes First Stakes Winner for War Dancer
Image:
Description:
Photo: Coglianese Photos/Chelsea Durand
Step Dancer wins the Awad Stakes at Belmont Park
Hayward Pressman, Diamond M Stable, and Donna Pressman's Step Dancer became the first black-type winner for sire War Dancer by capturing the $80,000 Awad Stakes Oct. 31 going 1 1/16 miles on Belmont Park's inner turf course.
The Barclay Tagg trainee found room at just the right time in the stretch, uncorking an inside stretch rally under Dylan Davis, and got up in time to best 15-1 longshot Like a Saltshaker by three-quarters of a length. Favored Space Launch finished another 3 1/4 lengths back in third.
War Dancer, a graded-winning son of War Front who made over $1 million, stood for $7,500 this year at Irish Hill & Dutchess Views Stallions in Stillwater, N.Y.
The sire of two winners this year from 21 runners, War Dancer's other top progeny from his first crop of runners include Ms Wicked, third as a maiden in the Muskoka Stakes at Woodbine, and Show Me the Honey, a first-out winner at Belmont Park Oct. 3 in a six-furlong maiden special weight contest for New York-breds.
Step Dancer ($16) is the stallion's leading money earner. He stopped the clock in 1:48.69 over yielding turf and upped his lifetime earnings to $96,100 while improving his record to 2-0-1 from three starts. The bay colt arrived at the Awad off a third-place finish to gate-to-wire winner Fire At Will in the Pilgrim Stakes (G2T) Oct. 3. He had lit up the tote board at 24-1 odds in his career debut when besting state-breds Sept. 4 at Saratoga Race Course.
With Tagg at Keeneland overseeing the final preparations of Tiz the Law leading up to the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) Nov. 7, chief assistant Robin Smullen was present to saddle the horse.
"Last time we ran, we stayed a little too close to the pace and we thought we had to on the inner turf but it took away from his kick," Smullen said. "Today, I told Dylan I wanted him five lengths off the pace and to find a spot and don't ask him until he turns for home. He came home with a great kick. He doesn't need to get to the outside. He showed that he's game and he can do whatever you want."
Davis said Step Dancer took to the yielding ground and that his plan of following the leader came to fruition.
"I saw Jose (Ortiz) looking for some room and I was just making sure I had some options in front of me," said Davis, who has been aboard for all three of Step Dancer's starts. "Jose was able to get through, so I followed him, and I thought something else might open up, and it did. He just loved the ground. He kept finding more and more. I was very impressed with him today. It was just like how he wowed me first time out. He really stepped up again today."
Bred in New York by Sugar Plum Farm and Richard Pressman, Step Dancer is the first offspring out of the English Channel mare Just Be Steppin. The latter was claimed by Hayward Pressman for $16,000 at Saratoga in August 2016.