TORONTO, July 2 – Rainha Da Bateria, invading from New York for trainer Chad Brown, and Starship Jubilee, based here with Kevin Attard ,were inseparable at the end of Sunday’s Grade 2 Dance Smartly Stakes. The Dance Smartly, a turf run over the new distance of 1 ¼ miles this year, attracted a field of eight fillies and mares. Rainha Da Bateria, ridden by Javier Castellano, had won the Grade 2 Canadian Stakes, a 1 1/8 mile grass race, in her first local appearance last October and then finished a close fifth in the Grade 1 E.P. Taylor at 1 ¼ miles on the grass. Starship Jubilee, with Eurico Rosa da Silva in the irons, was claimed for $16,000 at Gulfstream this February and has now put together five straight wins including the Grade 2 Nassau over 1 1/16 miles of grass in her first local appearance. Belle de Nuit, breaking from the No. 1 post in the Dance Smartly led the way through fractions of :25.75 for the quarter, :50.38 for the half and 1:15.01 for the three-quarters. But the front-runner was beginning to retreat as she reached the mile in 1:38.61 and Starship Jubilee was closing in. Starship Jubilee hit the front with a furlong to run but now faced a new challenge from Rainha da Bateria, who had been poised to strike while moving into fourth place with a quarter mile to run. There was no separating the two at the finish. “She was fresh,” said jockey Eurico Rosa da Silva, of his Dance Smartly partner. “She was very very comfortable. In the beginning she was a little rank. I was trying to hide a little behind the horse in the lead. Then she relaxed and came off the bridle. When I turned for home I thought I’d move a little bit early because I had so much horse." Involuntary, who had ended the runner-up to Starship Jubilee in the Nassau, raced forwardly throughout and finished well to be third, just a half-length behind the joint winners. Suffused, based in New York with Bill Mott, raced within striking range throughout but failing to deliver her best shot and finished fourth, beaten a total of just ¾ lengths.She had been beaten a nose as the runner-up here in last year’s Grade 1 E.P. Taylor at the same distance. Completing the order of finish were Gamble’s Ghost, Belle de Nuit, Uchenna anad Giovanna Blues. Rainha Da Bateria returned $4.00, $3.90 and $3.30 while Starship Jubilee paid $5.90, $4.60 and $4.40. A 4-8 exacta with Rainha Da Bateria on top paid $19.90 with the 8-4 Starship Jubillee—Rainha Da Bateria exacta worth $24.60. Involuntary ($8.40) completed a 4-8-2 trifecta of $108.10 topped by Rainha Da Bateria and an 8-4-2 trifecta topped by Starship Jubilee worth $104.50. The 4-8-2-5 superfecta ending with Suffused was worth $104.50 and the 8-4-2-5 returned 149.30 for $1. Share This:Share
