Chelsea Durand Photo

Bank Sting cuts back to sprinting in $100K Dancin Renee

by Mary Eddy

Hidden Brook Farm, Joseph McMahon and Anne McMahon’s Bank Sting will return to sprinting for the first time since January in Sunday’s $100,000 Dancin Renee for older New York-bred mares travelling six furlongs over the main track at Belmont Park.

Trained by John Terranova, Bank Sting enters from a game runner-up finish to Grade 1-placed Make Mischief in the Critical Eye Handicap travelling one mile on May 30 over Big Sandy. The daughter of perennial leading New York sire Central Banker stalked from farther off the pace than usual in fifth but still gave a good run at the end under Joel Rosario to pick up place honors, four lengths back of Make Mischief.

“She came out of that last race well,” Terranova said. “She likes to be in the fight a little bit, so I think maybe she was a little disengaged early on. That was a nice filly that got the jump and I don’t know if we had gone toe-to-toe with her if we’d have beat her anyways, but I think she’s more of a filly that likes to be closer. Joel got to know her last time and we’ll see. In sprints, there’s no holding back there.”

Terranova said he was not specifically looking to cut Bank Sting back in distance, but is content to do so as the Dancin Renee came up as the next logical spot for her before the Saratoga Race Course meeting.

“We took a shot here as it’s the only real option we have right now. She looks great and is ready to go,” said Terranova.

Bank Sting has proven well worth her owners’ patience after taking over a year away from the races following a fourth-place finish on debut in the NYSSS Fifth Avenue in December 2019. She returned in February 2021 to graduate at second asking as part of a near-perfect 4-year-old campaign where she won 5-of-6 races, including stakes victories in the Critical Eye and an 8 1/4-length romp in the NYSSS Staten Island to close out the year.

She kicked off her 5-year-old campaign on January 2 with a win sprinting seven furlongs in the restricted La Verdad and stretched out to one mile for an open-company triumph in the Heavenly Prize Invitational in March before finishing a distant fourth in her graded stakes debut in the Grade 2 Ruffian on May 8. She regrouped with her runner-up Critical Eye effort in her next outing.

“She’s a tough girl. We just stay out of her way,” said Terranova, with a laugh. “She’s feeling good and she’s happy.”

Rosario retains the mount from post 7.

Three Diamonds Farm’s Time Limit has finished in-the-money in all but two of her 19 starts and has not finished outside of the top-three since a fourth-place finish in the Joseph A. Gimma in September 2019 over Big Sandy. Since then, the Mike Maker trainee picked up graded black type with a runner-up finish in the Grade 3 Matron and a stakes coup in the What A Summer in January at Laurel along with six other stakes placings.

The daughter of Bustin Stones arrives from an even third-place finish in the six-furlong Skipat on May 21 at Pimlico Race Course where she tracked in third under Irad Ortiz, Jr. before briefly taking second at the stretch call. She faded back to third and finished 5 3/4 lengths behind the victorious Joy’s Rocket.

Time Limit, who owns a 2-for-3 record at Belmont, will be ridden again by Ortiz, Jr. from post 6.

Stakes-winner The Important One will make her 5-year-old debut for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen and owner Bloom Racing Stable after closing out her 2021 campaign with a distant third-place effort in the NYSSS Staten Island behind Bank Sting.

The Majestic City bay earned three victories in 2021, capped by an easy front-running score in the Iroquois sprinting 6 1/2 furlongs over a sloppy and sealed Big Sandy. The Important One has now found her best stride on dirt after going 1-for-7 over turf. Her lone win over the grass was her maiden score at third asking in her first start for Asmussen. She boasts a perfect in-the-money record over the dirt, including her Iroquois score and another stakes placing in the 2020 NYSSS Park Avenue.

Jose Lezcano has the return call from post 2.

Reeves Thoroughbred Racing’s Queen Arella streaks in from Finger Lakes off of five straight victories at the Farmington oval for trainer Anthony Ferraro. The 4-year-old Speightster filly was last seen drawing away to a 4 1/4-length allowance victory sprinting 4 1/2 furlongs on May 9 under Luis Perez. She has won her last five starts by a combined 16 1/2 lengths. 

Queen Arella returns to stakes company for the first time since finishing eighth in the Grade 3 Forward Gal in January 2021. Perez will ride again from post 5.

Sanford Goldfarb, Irwin Goldfarb and Nice Guy Stables’ Kept Waiting will get class relief after a runner-up finish in the Grade 3 Distaff on April 9 and a non-threatening fourth-place effort behind Bella Sofia last out in the Grade 3 Vagrancy on May 14.

Trained by Robert Falcone, Jr., Kept Waiting has hit the board in 11-of-13 lifetime starts and won the Broadway by 5 1/2 lengths for her lone stakes victory in February at Aqueduct. Kendrick Carmouche retains the mount from the inside post.

Rounding out the field are Secret Love [post 3, John Velazquez], Chasing Cara [post 4, Manny Franco], Letmetakethiscall [post 8, Jalon Samuel], Snicket [post 9, Trevor McCarthy] and Miss Jimmy [post 10, Dylan Davis].

The Dancin Renee, named for Sanford Bacon’s New York homebred Grade 3 winner, is slated as Race 8 on Sunday’s nine-race card. First post is 1 p.m. Eastern. 

America’s Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the spring/summer meet at Belmont Park on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

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