Dance to Bristol shows moves late in Honorable Miss

Susan H. Wantz's Dance to Bristol got up by a neck at the wire to run her win

streak to six in the Grade 2, $200,000

Honorable Miss Handicap at Saratoga on

Monday.

The Ollie Figgins III charge settled near the back of the pack as Classic

Point carved out quick fractions of :22 and :44 4/5. Dance to Bristol had to check briefly just past the quarter pole as Livi

Makenzie shifted out from the rail, but she was able to maintain her position and

not lose any ground. Dance to Bristol started to make her move at the top of the

stretch, found a seam to maneuver through approaching the final furlong and

there was only the pacesetter left to catch. The four-year-old filly dug in late

to get up in time, crossing the wire in 1:09 3/5 for six furlongs over the fast

main track.

"Not the cleanest of trips she's ever had, and you don't know how she's going

to react because she's always had nice, perfect trips," Figgins said. "You

couldn't draw them up any better, and today is the first time she had to do

that. It was nice. I think (jockey Xavier Perez) had to wait a little longer

than he wanted to, and I think he did check a little over by the three-eighths

pole, but once it opened up she came through pretty good. This is the toughest

field she's run against. I was having my doubts, because these guys don't give

you nothing. They don't give you a break here."

The 4-5 favorite returned $3.70, $2.90 and $2.40 to her supporters.

Classic Point claimed second in her stakes debut and it was another 2 1/4

lengths back to Munnings Sister in third. Promise Me a Cat, Burban, Liv Makenzie

and Glorious View rounded out the order of finish.

"The biggest thing is how she comes out of the race," Figgins said. "We'll

see how she is in the next day or two, next week. The Ballerina (on August

23) is absolutely where we'd like to be."

Dance to Bristol broke her maiden in her third start in October 2011 and made

her stakes debut the following month while finishing second. She captured her

first stakes score in her next start in the Pandera Stakes to close out her

two-year-old campaign and her only victory in 2012 came in the Marshua Stakes in

February.

Dance to Bristol made her four-year-old bow in the What A Summer Stakes,

while finishing second, her only loss on the year to date. She dropped down in

class her next two times out, winning optional claimers before stepping back up

to stakes company, where she took down the Sugar Maple and the Skipat Stakes by

a combined 13 3/4 lengths. The chestnut was exiting a score in her graded debut

in the Bed o' Roses back on June 15. With Monday's score, Dance to Bristol added

a sixth stakes win to her resume, which now reads 17-9-7-0 and $620,880 in

lifetime earnings.

The daughter of Speightstown was bred in Kentucky by Mr. and Mrs. David

Garner and is out of the Louis Quatorze mare Dance to Dawn. Her second dam is

the multiple Grade 3 winner Expressive Dance, who produced Grade 1 hero Chief

Honcho. Her female family also produced multiple Grade 2 winner American Change

and Group 1 scorer Poet's Voice.

Most notably, her third dam is the Native Dancer mare Exclusive Dancer, from

whom is descended the likes of multiple Grade 1 winners Versailles Treaty and

General Assembly.

Dance to Bristol was sold as a two-year-old in training for $42,000 at Fasig-Tipton

Midlantic sale.

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