The Ballerina (Grade 1) (BC)- $500.00 Purse
SAR- For Fillies and Mares Three Years Old and Upward
Seven Furlongs on the Dirt
August 29, 2026

It is time for the biggest day of the SAR meet, but before we get to the Travers we have to talk about some of these fantastic races on the undercard as they are stakes that could more than highlight any other race day on their own. The Grade 1, $500.00 Ballerina is certainly one of those as it is the first of three “win and you’re in” races for the BC Fillies & Mares Sprint. It’s been won by many greats in the past, including Avery Island on two occasions. Blonde Dynamite and more recently, Lady Sammyantha, have also tasted victory here. Last year, the Royalty Stables- trained Heart Of Joy took the win in what was a strong three year old season for her. After running sixth in the BC F & M Sprint, she was retired and has been hanging out with Baffert a lot since then. We’ll have a field of eight ready to dance in this year’s Ballerina. Let’s meet them!

1- Gigafemme (Big Guns Stables, ridden by M E Smith)- Ran a beauty two months ago at CD in the Grade 2 Chicago Stakes, and has shown that when she is ready to run, she can be as good as anyone in this division. That was also shown right after Christmas by winning the Grade 1 La Brea in the mud at SA. Unfortunately, she also has days like she had in the Inside Information and the Vinery Madison this year. I’m not sure this actually means anything, but all of her bad races have come when there has been a field size of ten or more. That’s obviously not an issue here.

2- Lucky Star (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by E Esquivel)- After a couple of decent, but not amazing fourth place finishes on the turf, Lucky Star will be returning to the main track. The six year old mare is a 33-race veteran with close to $1,700.00 in earnings, and that’s pretty close to an even split in as far which surface it was earned on. She’s only raced three times in 2026, so to look back at recent dirt starts, you end up going back far with the calendar, so I’m not sure how much that matters. Shouldn’t be ruled out, but also doesn’t excite me a whole lot in here.

3- Chase The Money (Avenue Z, ridden by R Santana Jr)- This six year old mare has been reliable over her 34-race career, and always seem to be near the front at the end. Even the races where she was down a bit in the running order, she wasn’t beaten by a bunch. She’s hit the board 21 times, albeit eleven times has resulted in a third place finish. Last time out, she snapped a winless streak that was just over a year by impressively grabbing the Grade 3 Hendrie Stakes at WO. Expect her in the mix again, but she hasn’t won two in a row since 2022.

4- Lilahs Empire (Royalty Stables, ridden by J L Ortiz)- In 2025, Royalty Stables entered the only three year old into the Ballerina, drew post 4 in the starting gate, and would win the race with Heart Of Joy. In 2026, Royalty Stables has entered the only three year old into the Ballerina, drew post 4 in the starting gate, and, well, that’s where it ends for now. Lilahs Empire hasn’t been quite as good as Heart Of Joy, and is still looking for her first stake win. Her three stake attempts to this point are the only three races of her nine start career where she has not hit the board. Unless you believe in history repeating itself for the trainer, it may be best to pass on her.

5- Dolphin Bay (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by A Beschizza)- Made her stake debut in June at the Grade 2 Chicago Stakes and beat everyone but Gigafemme. That race followed a strong allowance win that also came at CD. Following the Chicago, she ran here for the Grade 2 Shuvee and was third in a dead heat. That was just her seventh career start, something that could have you looking twice to be sure that she is not also a three year old. Her career was derailed by an 18 month period of inactivity that was not TwinTowersRacing’s doing. It will make you wonder what might have been for her, but at least she is getting the chance to blossom now.

6- Altered State (Mb Stables, ridden by J R Velazquez)- Her and Honey, who is starting right next to her, will be attracting most of the interest at the betting window. There’s plenty of reason for Altered State to be well liked, and it all comes down to consistency. We’re going to completely disregard the turf sprint last time out, and when you do that, her prior eight starts sees six wins and two seconds. The highlight of that stretch came at CD in the Grade 1 Derby City Distaff that she won, but second to that came right here a month later for the Grade 2 Bed O Roses. Altered State has been in the BC F & M Sprint before, running 9th in 2024.

7- Honey (Martyparty, ridden by S X Bridgmohan)- Like Altered State, Honey has a very impressive streak of consistency. Since March 2025, she has been in the top two all but once, encompassing eleven starts, and resulting in six wins. Half of those are graded races, and two have been in her last three. On the same day Altered State was winning the Derby City Distaff, Honey was north of the border winning the Grade 3 Whimsical Stakes, then last month she got a win here in the Grade 2 Honorable Miss Handicap. This filly is at her best right now, and I don’t see any reason why that would stop here.

8- So Beautiful (Temulac Farm, ridden by F Pennington)- She’s been running against several of these for a while now and done well in those races, but still looking for a win against them and her first while running for Temulac Farm. In May, she was second best to Altered State at the Derby City Distaff, then in June took on a few of these in the Chicago Stakes and finished in a third place dead heat, but behind both Gigafemme and Dolphin Bay. For as competitive as she been against these rivals, it would seem to be just a matter of time for it to be her day, and this would be a good place for that to happen.

Prediction: 6-1-5-7

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES