Dancing in Silks upsets Sprint in tight photo

Dancing in Silks (green hat) prevailed in a four-way photo (Ted Terquinio/Horsephotos.com)

California-breds made it a sweep of Saturday’s shortest Breeders’ Cup races
when Ken Kinakin’s DANCING IN SILKS (Black Minnaloushe) prevailed in a four-way
photo to notch the $1,818,000

Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) under Joel Rosario. Despite winning a fast renewal
of the California Cup Sprint in his latest start, the four-year-old gelding was let go at
25-1 and led a trio of longshots under the wire.

Dancing in Silks tracked in fourth early as Cost of Freedom (Cee’s Tizzy)
outhustled both 9-5 favorite Zensational (Unbridled’s Song) and last year’s
Sprint runner-up Fatal Bullet (Red Bullet) for the lead. That one led by a
length through a quarter in :21 4/5 and a half in :44 1/5, and opened up in
midstretch by 1 1/2 lengths with a furlong to go. Rivals were closing in from
both sides, however, with Dancing in Silks gaining ground to his outside, Crown
of Thorns (Repent) charging like a freight train outside that one, and 2-1
second choice Gayego (Gilded Time) hoping to sneak through along the rail.
Ultimately, it was the two outside horses who had the upper hand at the finish
with Dancing in Silks barely outlasting 15-1 chance Crown of Thorns by a nose.
Cost of Freedom, a head behind the top pair, nosed out Gayego for third at 18-1.

Dancing in Silks slid through to score in the Sprint (Jim Tyrrell/Horsephotos.com)

Zensational failed to show any kind of kick and checked in fifth, one spot
ahead of early presser Fatal Bullet. Next under the wire were Fleeting Spirit
(Ire) (Invincible Spirit), Capt. Candyman Can (Candy Ride [Arg]), and Join in
the Dance (Sky Mesa).

“The way Zensational had been training and Gayego won the Ancient Title
(G1), it
looked like a tough situation (for us),” winning trainer Carla Gaines said. “The
way the post positions set up, we were able to sit off the pace and make our
run. The racing gods were smiling upon us today.”

Dancing in Silks competed on Breeders’ Cup day last year, just not in the
Breeders’ Cup itself. The bay finished second in the Damascus S. on the
Breeders’ Cup Saturday undercard, his only prior open company stakes attempt.
Dancing in Silks also finished third in the Real Good Deal S. and On Trust H.
for California-breds last year, and opened up his 2009 campaign with a fourth in
the Sunshine Millions Sprint.

Off nearly seven months after that, Dancing in
Silks returned to take a turf allowance/optional claimer at Del Mar, scored in
the Pirate’s Bounty S. versus state-breds over the Del Mar Polytrack, then won
the Cal Cup in a photo. With this initial graded stakes score, Dancing in Silks
has now bankrolled $1,447,622 from a mark of 13-7-2-2.