'Dancer' to Miss Alcibiades With Minor Injury

Grade I winner Pretty City Dancer, a leading contender for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (gr. I), will miss her planned start in the Darley Alcibiades Stakes (gr. I) Oct. 7 at Keeneland because of a minor ankle injury, trainer Mark Casse said.

John Oxley's Tapit   filly, who finished in a dead-heat for first with Sweet Loretta in the Spinaway Stakes (gr. I ) last time out Sept. 3 at Saratoga Race Course, missed some training time following her Sept. 23  breeze going five-furlongs in 1:00 .50 on the training track. She was a "touch off" the next day, Casse said.

"We x-rayed her (right front) ankle and it looked fine," he said of Pretty City Dancer who is back in training at Churchill Downs. "We gave her a few days off, and we're just being cautious with her. We're going to see how she trains before we breeze her again. We just didn't have time enough to work her (before the Alcibiades), so we're going to skip it."

The Spinaway provided Pretty City Dancer an automatic berth to the 14 Hands Winery Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Nov. 5 at Santa Anita Park via the Breeders' Cup Challenge series. The victory also capped three consecutive wins following her Churchill victories in the listed Debutante Stakes July 2 and a maiden special weight race May 27. 

Despite the setback, Pretty City Dancer is doing great, Casse said, adding that he is optimistic she will make the Breeders' Cup.

"If not, she's too valuable and too good a filly to rush her along," he said. "(The injury is) disappointing, but luckily its nothing of any great consequence."

Oxley bought Pretty City Dancer, a half sister to grade I winner Lear's Princess, for $825,000 from the Gainesway's agency consignment to the 2015 Keeneland September yearling sale. She has three wins and a third from four starts with $229,700 in earnings.

"Irad Ortiz was supposed to ride her and I told his agent we're not going to make (the Alcibiades), but don't count us out of the Breeders' Cup right yet."