Pretty City Dancer to Take on Miss Preakness Field

Grade 1 winner Pretty City Dancer will try to snap a four-race losing streak in a full field of 14 sophomore fillies May 19 in the $150,000 Adena Springs Miss Preakness Stakes (G3) at Pimlico Race Course.

John Oxley's Pretty City Dancer looks to regain her winning form in Friday's six-furlong race. The Tapit   filly's racing career got off to a fast start for trainer Mark Casse, as she broke her maiden in her second attempt and then went on to win the Debutante Stakes at Churchill Downs and the Spinaway Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course in a dead heat with Sweet Loretta.

A minor setback forced Pretty City Dancer to miss the Darley Alcibiades Stakes (G1) in October. In her return to the races Feb. 4, she was runner up in the Forward Gal Stakes (G2), but then finished off the board in her next three starts, including a sixth in the April 8 Central Bank Ashland Stakes (G1) at Keeneland.

While posting consistently quick breezes that include a bullet four furlongs in :47 1/5 at Churchill April 28, Pretty City Dancer finished fifth in her latest start—the Eight Belles Stakes Presented by Kentucky Trailer (G2) on the Louisville oval May 5.

Racing in Puerto Rico, Kentucky-bred Too Much Tip is undefeated aside from one start where she lost her rider at the break, but she will be making her U.S. debut in the Miss Preakness for her owners Belka Stud. 

The Too Much Bling   filly has six wins at Camarero Race Track in Puerto Rico, including five stakes races there. With three five-furlong bullet works at Keeneland and Palm Meadows Training Center since April 27 for trainer Wesley Ward, she looks to be a threat Friday. Too Much Tip was transferred to Ward for her U.S. campaign.

Todd Pletcher brings a pair that could improve in Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2) fourth-place finisher Nonna Bella and two-time stakes winner Bode's Dream.

Repole Stable's Nonna Bella won her first two starts at Gulfstream Park before her April 1 Gulfstream Park Oaks finish. While both horses are lightly raced, St. Elias Stable's Bode's Dream has a bit more experience and two stakes wins under her belt. The daughter of Bodemeister   came in second in the Jan. 1 Old Hat Stakes before finishing off the board in the Forward Gal.

Several stakes winners looking for their first graded stakes score in the Miss Preakness also have shown promise. R Angel Katelyn has five wins from seven starts, four of which were stakes in Florida; Crabcakes has not finished worse than second in five starts; Astrollinthepark has three wins from four starts since her debut Jan. 29, and Florida-bred Who's the Lady is undefeated in four starts. 

Adena Springs has donated a 2017 no guarantee breeding season to their sire Point of Entry  , which will be presented to this year's winner of the Miss Preakness for an approved filly or mare.