Woodbine: Dancin in Da’nile seeks 1st stakes win in Singspiel

Dancin in Da’nile, trained and co-owned by Gail Cox, chases his first stakes score in Saturday’s running of the Grade 3 Singspiel at Woodbine.

The inner turf will play host to the 1 3/8-mile Singspiel, a race for 3-year-olds and up that drew six starters, including Dancin in Da’nile.

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The 6-year-old son of Pioneerof the Nile out of the Awesome Again mare Dance Again was fourth in the last year’s running, just 2 3/4 lengths behind multiple graded-stakes winner Truly Quality.

Bred by Sam-Son Farm, Dancin in Da’nile has crafted a mark of 28: 4-3-2 and $333,932 in purse earnings. The multiple stakes-placed dark bay is directly descended from Sam-Son’s greatest champion, Dance Smartly, who is his fourth dam. 

Co-owned by Cox, Ralph Murray, John Menary and Michael Balaz, the gelding heads into the Singspiel off a rousing runner-up effort in the Niagara Stakes on Aug. 2.

Sent off at 21-1, Dancin in Da’nile, under Jose Campos, came six wide down the lane in the 1 1/4-mile turf test and gained late to secure second.

“It was a very nice effort,” said Cox, who won the 2020 edition of the race with Count Again, bred and co-owned by Sam-Son Farm. “We were very happy with it. There was no speed in the race, and he doesn’t have speed either, and I thought he ran great.

“I wasn’t surprised at the way he ran,” she said. “I think he is definitely a turf horse, and he needs a distance. We don’t get those until later in the season, so when we do, it suits him. He’s just a nice horse and has always been. I loved him right from the start. I worked hard to put together a group to buy him.”

Dancin in Da’nile’s last two works have come over the Woodbine main track, a five-furlong bullet breeze in 59.0 seconds Aug. 23 and a four-furlong breeze in 47.2 on Saturday.

“He’s doing great,” Cox said. “He’s coming into the race exactly how we want him to be. He ran a good one last time out, and now he gets more distance.”