Bella Ballerina, a debut sprint winner at Keeneland in October before landing the 1 1/16-mile, Grade 2 Golden Rod on Nov. 29 at Churchill, remains very much on track to make her 3-year-old debut Feb. 14 in the Rachel Alexandra.
Trainer Brendan Walsh on Jan. 30 gave Bella Ballerina her stiffest drill of the winter, a five-furlong Fair Grounds move timed in 1:00.20, fastest among 43 works over the distance that morning.
“She keeps herself fit and there’s not a ton of work to do with her,” Walsh said. “She’s grown and gotten stronger, and all her works have been very good.”
Walsh also said he plans to run Carson Street in the Risen Star on the same Feb. 14 card. Carson Street, exiting a maiden win, contested a strong pace while trapped down at the rail, holding admirably for third in the Lecomte last month.
:: Big Action in the Big Easy at Fair Grounds! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now.
“All the pace in that race backed up, except for him,” Walsh said.
Walsh also trains Hey Evabody, a highly plausible winner of the featured seventh race Thursday. Hey Evabody already has notched maiden and first-level dirt sprint allowance wins at the meet and drew a favorable outside post from which to use her speed in this second-level allowance with a $50,000 claiming option.
“She’s a fast filly,” Walsh said. “You wouldn’t want to be getting in her way.”
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.