Ball Dancing’s comeback win in the $300,000 Sands Point S. (G2) at Belmont Park gave Exchange Rate his second stakes winner in a matter of a couple of hours. Earlier in the afternoon, the 2-year-old filly Hooligan claimed victory in the $60,000 Jamestown S. on the Laurel Park turf course.
Exchange Rate now has five graded stakes winners in 2014, led by the top 2-year-old West Coast filly Sunset Glow, winner of the Del Mar Debutante (G1) and Sorrento S. (G2).
Ball Dancing was making her first U. S. start following a victory in the Prix de la Seine at Longchamp, France and finishing second in the Group 3 Prix de Royaumont. The 3-year-old filly is owned by W. S. Farish and F. Steve Mooney, who purchased her following the Prix de Diane.
In typical European style, Ball Dancing sat in the rear of the field for the first six furlongs, before Joe Bravo asked her to pick up the pace some three furlongs from the wire. Five wide coming into the lane, Ball Dancing had a hard-charging Xcellence to her outside.
Xcellence swept to the front with an eighth-mile to go, but Ball Dancing battled right back and pulled ahead in deep stretch to win by a half-length.
Ball Dancing completed 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.18 over a course rated firm but was getting rain over the afternoon.
“How impressive was it at the eighth pole when she got passed?” said Bravo. “How much heart did she show to come back and win it?
“With European horses making their first start here, it’s mostly a matter of making sure they’re comfortable with their surroundings,” Bravo continued. “Chad (trainer Brown) does so much homework with these horses, it made my job easy.”
Ball Dancing is 3-1-0 in six starts, with her bankroll standing at $396,282.
