Dance With Fate Wins Blue Grass, True to Form
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In the final Polytrack edition of the $750,000 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (gr. I), a California shipper who has shown extremely good form over synthetic surfaces found his way home .
Dance With Fate, coming in off a runner-up fininsh in the Feb. 15 El Camino Real Derby (gr. II) over the Tapeta at Golden Gate Fields, started outside of California for the first time and earned 100 points—enough to get into the field for the May 3 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I).
But trainer Peter Eurton said the Derby, run at 1 1/4 miles on the dirt at Churchill Downs, is an unknown for the Florida-bred son of Two Step Salsa .
"I don't know (if we'll go to the Derby); it's pretty quick three weeks back and I know he likes synthetic, I just don't know if he likes dirt," said Eurton, who trains the Blue Grass winner for Sharon Alesia, Michael Mellen's Bran Jam Stable, and Joseph Ciaglia's Ciaglia Racing.
Keeneland is replacing Polytrack with dirt after the 2013 spring meet. One of the goals officials expressed is to attract top-level dirt horses en route to the Derby and Breeders' Cup.
Dance With Fate now has three wins and three seconds from eight starts, with two of his victories coming on synthetic tracks and one earned over the turf. Last year, he was runner-up in the both the Del Mar Futurity (gr. I) and the FrontRunner Stakes (gr. I) at Santa Anita Park. In his biggest dirt test, the Nov. 2 Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I), he fizzled to eighth after getting slammed coming out of the gate.
In the 90th edition of the Blue Grass, Dance With Fate had much better luck. Well back early in the pack of 14 3-year-olds, he bided his time under Corey Nakatani behind a :23.58 quarter and a half in :47.59 set by Pablo Del Monte, who held his advantage turning for home after three-quarters in 1:12.74.
The front-runner's joy was short-lived, however, as Dance With Fate reeled him through a 1:37.83 mile en route to a 1 3/4-length score. Spendthrift Farm's Transylvania Stakes (gr. III) winner Medal Count got up for second, and trainer Dale Romans indicated he will start in the Derby if the 40 points he earned with his runner-up finish get him into the 20-horse field.
Pablo Del Monte held another 1 3/4 lengths back in third. It was 5 1/4 lengths further to the fourth-place finisher, Big Bazinga. Final time was 1:50.06 on a fast track before a sun-splashed crowd of 39,722.
The attendance is the second-largest in track history, surpassed only by the 2012 Toyota Blue Grass Day attendance of 40,617.
Off at odds of 6-1, Dance With Fate paid $14.80, $6.80, $5.80 while Medal Count paid $7.80 and $5.20.
Pablo Del Monte brought $6.80. Following Big Bazinga came Coltimus Prime, Gala Award, So Lonesome, Asserting Bear, Casiguapo, Coastline, Extrasexyhippzster, 7-2 favorite Bobby's Kitten, Harry's Holiday, and Vinceremos. Divine Oath scratched.
Bred by Best A Luck Farm out of the Saint Ballado mare Flirting With Fate, Dance With Fate was a $120,000 purchase by Ciaglia at the 2013 Ocala Breeders' Sales Co.'s spring sale of 2-year-olds in training.