OZONE PARK, N.Y. – There were two main factors that prompted trainer Chad Brown to ship Ballerina d’Oro to New York for Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Gazelle Stakes at Aqueduct rather than to Keeneland for Monday’s rescheduled Grade 1, $750,000 Ashland. Brown prefers the 1 1/8-mile distance of the Gazelle to the 1 1/16 miles of the Ashland. Also, Ballerina d’Oro has a good race at Aqueduct, having finished second, beaten one length by Muhimma in last December’s Grade 2 Demoiselle. “More distance is her friend and she has a good race over that track in the Demoiselle,” said Brown, who had Ballerina d’Oro based at Payson Park in Florida all winter. “It just made sense. It’s a little bit of a milk run to go up to New York and then over to Churchill if she qualifies [for the Kentucky Oaks] because right now she’s not in the field.” The Gazelle offers its top five finishers qualifying points (100-50-25-15-10) toward the May 2 Oaks and Ballerina d’Oro would likely need a top three finish to get the points necessary to qualify for the race. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Ballerina d’Oro made the first three starts of her career on turf, winning once. Brown liked the way Ballerina d’Oro trained on dirt last fall to try the Demoiselle. Sent off at 9-1, Ballerina d’Oro was last early, had to steady slightly while in the midst of a rally that began before the three-eighths pole, falling one length short of Muhimma, who was loose on the lead and won for the third time in as many starts. Ballerina d’Oro made her 3-year-old debut in the Grade 2 Davona Dale, where she finished third behind The Queens M G in the one-turn mile race. Eight were entered in the Gazelle, but not all will run. Trainer Rodolphe Brisset said Liam in the Dust will scratch to run in one of two spots at Keeneland next week. Trainer Rick Dutrow said he would likely only run Diriyah if the track is wet. Early On, a daughter of Union Rags trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., is coming out of a runner-up finish behind Fondly in the Virginia Oaks on March 15. “She ran well last time going a mile and a sixteenth,” Joseph said. “We always wanted to stretch her out, just couldn’t get the distance. She’s a filly that kind of grinds and grinds. She was making a good run by the quarter pole and Flavien [Prat] took a little hold of her and I think that took away a little of her momentum. Then it looked like she was going to back up, but she stayed on.” Javier Castellano rides. Deloraine, a daughter of Candy Ride trained by Eoin Harty, was third behind La Cara in the Suncoast at Tampa on dirt before finishing in third in the Florida Oaks on turf. “I was a little disappointed in her early on, but she matured somewhat and has run a couple of big races for me,” Harty said. “Turf might be her preferred surface. She tries very hard and her dirt races are all right.” Mike Smith rides Deloraine. Late Nite Call, Vanilla Sundae, and Pure Beauty round out the field. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.