A California-bred filly produced from the Slew o' Gold mare Golden Jewel Box, Golden Ballet was trained by Jenine Sahadi. While earning $732,145, Golden Ballet this year won the Santa Anita Oaks and Las Virgenes, both grade I, as well as the Railbird and Santa Ynez Stakes, both grade II, and finished second in the Ashland Stakes (gr. I). As a 2-year-old of 2000, the filly was victorious in the Cinderella and Nursery Stakes.
Golden Ballet, leader of the 3-year-old filly division this year on the basis of her two grade I stakes victories before being retired after suffering a bowed tendon, arrived at Craig Banderoff's Denali Stud on Monday, June 18. The filly, who won six of 10 career starts, with two seconds and two thirds, will likely be consigned to the Keeneland Breeding Stock Sale in November. Owned by Team Valor and Heiligbrodt Racing Stable, the daughter of Moscow Ballet was prepping for the June 16 Princess Stakes (gr. II) when she was pulled up by jockey Chris McCarron midway through the workout.Team Valor president Barry Irwin said an initial examination did not reveal anything but that after about 1 1/2 hours she began to develop some heat in the area of the injury that was diagnosed as a core lesion. Irwin said he was "devastated" by the development and that partner Bill Heiligbrodt is out of the country and has not been notified of the injury.