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Dance Card's victory in Saturday's Grade 1 Gazelle at Aqueduct capped a high-quality year for Godolphin Racing, becoming the outfit's fifth winner of a Grade 1 in 2012. The three-year-old Tapit filly joined the Kiaran McLaughlin-trained Emcee (Forego), Alpha (Travers), Questing (Alabama, Coaching Club American Oaks) and It's Tricky (Ogden Phipps Handicap) in capturing some of the most prestigious events on the New York Racing Association (NYRA) circuit. Through Saturday, Godolphin runners were 14-6-9 from 49 starts and have earned nearly $3.6 million, with 11 of those wins coming in graded stakes. "If you put Darley and Godolphin together, it would be $7 million, almost," McLaughlin remarked. "It was a pretty good year from only 40-odd starts." For Dance Card, the Gazelle was her fourth straight victory and first in a graded race, and was accomplished despite drifting out in the stretch. "If someone acts up in the gate, you take them to the gate in the morning and school them, and watch them get better," McLaughlin said. "When they don't do anything wrong in training, and they do it the afternoon of the race, it can be very frustrating, but not so bad if they're five in front. |
"Now that she's won a Grade 1, we may tinker a bit with her equipment."
McLaughlin said that Irsaal, who finished seventh in the Grade 2 Remsen, returned from his efforts in good shape and may move to the turf this winter in Florida.
