Bella Ballerina, Half to Pretty Mischievous, Wins Debut

This column highlights the performances of 2-year-old maidens who have made no more than five starts and who either sold for more than $500,000 at public auction, have siblings that are graded/group winners, or have dams that are graded/group winners. BloodHorse research shows maiden winners, in particular, who meet these criteria are more likely to go on to be graded stakes winners.

Keeneland

Although different in appearance, Bella Ballerina took a giant stride toward matching her esteemed older sibling in fortitude and talent with a sparkling debut score on Keeneland opening weekend. 

The 2-year-old half sister to champion and three-time grade 1 winner Pretty Mischievous, Bella Ballerina waltzed home a 4 1/4-length winner in a 6-furlong maiden special weight Oct. 5. With Pretty Mischievous' retirement last year, the weight of expectation was thrust upon Bella Ballerina's shoulders when she joined trainer Brendan Walsh's barn this spring. The filly was a Godolphin homebred through and through—sired by Darley stallion Street Sense  (who very much marked Bella Ballerina with her rangy figure and plain bay coat) and out the operation's grade 1-winning Tapit  mare Pretty City Dancer. 

In her final work before her maiden test, Bella Ballerina shaded 1:00 for 5 furlongs at Churchill Downs, clocking :59 4/5 Sept. 26. Walsh had told FanDuel in a prerace interview that while the filly was bred to excel over two turns, he believed she had the speed to finish the job sprinting three-quarters.

Settled well off the pace early under Tyler Gaffalione, the regular rider of Pretty Mischievous, Bella Ballerina advanced four wide with menacing strides around the turn and collared her rivals by midstretch. Drawing clear, the filly showed a touch of greenness in the final sixteenth, switching to her left lead, but still managed to win comfortably in a final time of 1:11.36. Her time was a tick faster than Sneaky Good ran later on the card in the other 6-furlong maiden special event for 2-year-old fillies.

Bella Ballerina is the fourth foal out of Pretty City Dancer, who Godolphin went to $3.5 million to purchase at Fasig-Tipton's The November Sale in 2018. All four of her foals to race have been winners, but her Into Mischief  daughter Pretty Mischievous stands as her crowning achievement to date. Pretty Mischievous, a product of the first Godolphin-selected breeding for Pretty City Dancer, made history in 2023 when becoming the operation's first winner of the Kentucky Oaks (G1). The flashy and exquisitely beautiful filly retired to the Godolphin broodmare band after making three starts as a 4-year-old. She had banked more than $2.1 million and collected an Eclipse Award as the 2023 champion 3-year-old filly.