Finley'sluckycharm Aims for More Saratoga Success

After her clear victory in the Honorable Miss Handicap (G2) July 25, Finley'sluckycharm will try to add to her Saratoga Race Course success Aug. 25 when she faces eight other fillies and mares in the $500,000 Ketel One Ballerina Stakes (G1).

Carl Moore's Finley'sluckycharm knocked down her second graded stakes win of the season when she drew off in the six-furlong Honorable Miss by 2 1/4 lengths. Now the 5-year-old Twirling Candy  mare will stretch back out to seven furlongs for the Ballerina, the distance at which she won this year's Madison Stakes (G1) at Keeneland.

Trainer Bret Calhoun believes that as Finley'sluckycharm has matured, she's grown into the seven-furlong distance.

"In her younger years, she might've been a little better at a shorter distance, but I think as she's gotten older, she's learned how to relax better," Calhoun said. "I don't see a lot of difference with her anymore at seven-eighths. I think she's gotten to where she's just as good at seven-eighths as she is at three-quarters. She's got a very high cruising speed, she relaxes, and she's able to carry it, but it doesn't bother her if she's taken back some, either. She's pretty versatile at this point. She's a little bit better all around."

Finley'sluckycharm will try to become the third horse since 2013 to win the Honorable Miss and Ballerina in the same season, joining Haveyougoneaway and Dance to Bristol. Her Honorable Miss score followed a close runner-up finish in 2017, when she finished a neck behind Paulassilverlining. Regular rider Brian Hernandez Jr. will be aboard Finley'sluckycharm, top weight at 124 pounds.

"I thought the Honorable Miss was a nice race for her," Calhoun said. "I don't think it was an overly stressful race for her, and that has allowed us to bounce back in four weeks. That's always what we wanted to do, but we wanted to wait and see how hard that race was on her. But she's come out of it well, and we're looking forward to the Ballerina with her."

Also entered Saturday off an impressive New York victory will be Lewis Bay, who won the Bed o' Roses Invitational Stakes (G3) June 8 at Belmont Park. Alpha Delta Stables' homebred Lewis Bay finished third in the Madison, just a head behind Finley'sluckycharm. Champion trainer Chad Brown opted to give the 5-year-old Bernardini  mare some extra rest off that big Belmont effort.

"She ran so fast last time that I wanted to give her a long time between races. I would love to see her win a grade 1," Brown said. "She really deserves it."

Bob Baffert has shipped in a filly on a roll in Cicero Farms' Marley's Freedom, a 4-year-old daughter of Blame  who has won three straight races in Southern California, including back-to-back graded stakes scores. 

China Horse Club, Madaket Stables, and Mathis Stable's Ivy Bell already has a pair of runner-up finishes in top-level races this season, including the Humana Distaff Stakes (G1) at Churchill Downs. The daughter of Archarcharch opened the year with a victory in the Inside Information Stakes (G2) at Gulfstream Park for trainer Todd Pletcher.

Entries: Ketel One Ballerina S. (G1)

Saratoga Race Course, Saturday, August 25, 2018, Race 8

• Grade I
• 7f
• Dirt
• $500,000
• 3 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
• 3:35 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Tequilita (KY)	Manuel Franco	119	Michael R. Matz	20/1
2	2Ivy Bell (KY)	Javier Castellano	121	Todd A. Pletcher	5/1
3	3Still There (NY)	David Cohen	117	Dane Kobiskie	12/1
4	4Cairenn (FL)	Jose L. Ortiz	117	H. Graham Motion	15/1
5	5Finley'sluckycharm (KY)	Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.	124	W. Bret Calhoun	3/1
6	6Lewis Bay (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	119	Chad C. Brown	3/1
7	7Marley's Freedom (KY)	Mike E. Smith	121	Bob Baffert	5/2
8	8Union Strike (KY)	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	117	Steven M. Asmussen	15/1
9	9Highway Star (NY)	Luis Saez	119	Rodrigo A. Ubillo	10/1