Dance to Bristol retires
 

DANCE TO BRISTOL RETIREMENT CEREMONY SATURDAY

LAUREL, MD. 11-13-13---Saturday’s nine-race card will feature four $100,000 stakes races and a special retirement ceremony for Bowie-based Dance to Bristol, who completed her career with a sixth place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) earlier this month.

Owned by Taneytown resident Susan Wantz and trained by Ollie Figgins III, Dance to Bristol enjoyed a stellar 4-year-old campaign with victories in seven of her 10 starts this year, including three graded stakes.

The daughter of Speightstown and jockey Xavier Perez reeled off seven straight victories from February through August, including a win in the Skipat Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on Preakness weekend and three graded races in New York: Bed Of Roses (G3), Honorable Miss (G2) and Ballerina (G1).

“She took me on the journey of a lifetime,” Figgins said this afternoon. “She took me to places where I never ran before and was very successful. She got me to where I could be seen on the big stage and I think that would be a big boost for my career.”

Wantz, Figgins and Perez will be on-hand to say goodbye to Dance to Bristol, who will leave two days later for Mill Ridge Farm in Lexington, KY to start a new career as a broodmare.

Sure was fun watching her streak this year.

Why retire?

The "law" of diminishing returns.

What return was diminishing?

Based on what mare prospects are selling for these days she'd probably cost more to insure as a racehorse than she could earn over the next 6 months or so. What big filly sprint is coming up in the next 3-4 months?

If only she were a gelding Chuck. :)