Come Dancing 'thriving' on way to Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint
Trainer Carlos Martin saw just what he wanted out of Come Dancing in her second work following the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom, where she drilled through five furlongs with Rajiv Maragh up in 1:00.44 on Saturday morning over the Belmont Park training track, which was the fastest of 14 recorded works at the distance.
Owned by Blue Devil Racing, Come Dancing is a four-time graded stakes winner this season including a victory in the Ballerina (G1) at Saratoga in August.
Come Dancing, a 5-year-old Malibu Moon dark bay, remains on target for the $1 million Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint on Nov. 2 at Santa Anita.
"She was smooth. Just really, really comfortable," Martin said of the work. "She just does things so easily. Rajiv just nudged her a little bit and she just took off.
“I wanted to get a decent work into her but not squeeze the lemon dry and still have some time for the Breeders' Cup. I wanted to go between a minute and 1:01 and just get her to finish a bit the last eighth and she did that. I think they got her last quarter in 23 and 1, but she really did it the right way. She didn't draw a breath after, cooled out really sensationally."
Martin said the Gallant Bloom effort wasn't too taxing for Come Dancing.
"It doesn't seem that way. I wasn't going to run her," Martin said. "I was just going to train her up to the Breeders' Cup, but she has just been really thriving.
“It seems like the best time of year to be thriving, when it counts the most. She seems to be getting better and stronger."
Martin said he would be delighted to see Come Dancing win an Eclipse Award for Champion Female Sprinter. When taking the Ballerina, she gave Martin his first Grade 1 victory since Buy the Firm won the Top Flight 1991.
"It's been a great ride. She's been an amazing mare for me," Martin said. "It would mean everything to me. It's a culmination of a lot of hard work and to come up with a champion mare would be a dream come true."