Bal A Bali Makes U.S. Debut After Miraculous Recovery

Bal A Bali Makes U.S. Debut After Miraculous Recovery: A Brazilian Triple Crown horse previously qualified to run in the 2014 Breeders’ Cup Turf, Bal A Bali will finally make his U.S. debut in the one-mile American Stakes (GIII) on Saturday, May 9, 2015, at Santa Anita after surviving a bout of laminitis.

Shortly after being acquired by Fox Hill Farm and Siena Farm, laminitis prevented Bal A Bali from continuing his campaign, and the possibility of returning Bal A Bali to the races at all was even in doubt because of the sensitivity of the disease. Fortunately, Bal A Bali responded to treatment and fully recovered to return to the track. Undoubtedly, the work of the dedicated vets was important in the recovery of the horse. A healthy horse was finally sent to Richard Mandella’s barn to begin his return to the starting gate. To their surprise, Bal A Bali behaved like the same horse that ran in Brazil, giving the impression that the horse is ready to do important things in the United States.

Bal A Bali is a Southern Hemisphere four-year-old son of Put It Back out of In My Side (Brz), by Clackson (Brz) with a record of 11 wins in 12 starts in his native Brazil, including setting a new track record for a mile.

In the American Stakes, Bal A Bali will face quality horses like Winning Prize (ARG), Talco (FR), and Home Run Kitten, each of whom are stakes winners with plenty of experience over the Santa Anita turf. The Brazilian champion is likely using this race as a prep for his main goal, the Arlington Million over 1¼ miles to be contested on August 15, 2015, at Arlington Park.

Bal A Bali is a horse who has won races from 5 furlongs to 1½ miles, proving to be a versatile horse and making him one of the greatest South American horses this year. Certainly, this race will be very tough for Bal A Bali since he’s coming from a long layoff, but just seeing him on the track again, working like he never suffered any disease, is amazing. If he stays healthy, he should be running in top company again soon.

The Grade III American Stakes Odds and Post Positions
Race 8 4:00 PM PT
1 Enterprising 12-1 Jockey G.Stevens/T.Proctor
2 War Academy 15-1 Jockey C.Nakatani/E.Mode
3 Winning Prize (ARG) 5-2 Jockey R.Bejarano/N.Drysdale
4 Gabriel Charles 8-1 Jockey T.Baze/J.Mullins
5 Talco (FR) 5-2 Jockey V.Espinoza/J.Sadler
6 Little Jerry 20-1 Jockey M.Pedroza/R.Baltas
7 Home Run Kitten 5-1 Jockey J.Talamo/D.Hofmans
8 Bal A Bali (BRZ) 9-5 Jockey F.Prat/R.Mandella

2014 GP Estado do Rio de Janeiro – GI (NTR)