Ways and Means said goodbye to Saratoga with a brilliant performance
- Turf Diario
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
The daughter of Practical Joke dominated by 5 1/2 lengths in the Ballerina Stakes (G1), securing her sixth victory in seven starts at the New York venue, and will go straight to the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, where she is expected to close out her racing career
SARATOGA SPRINGS, New York (Special for Turf Diario).— If this was indeed her final appearance at Saratoga, Ways and Means found the perfect farewell to a track that has defined much of her story. The remarkable Klaravich Stables mare put on a masterclass to capture the Ballerina Stakes (G1-1,400 m, $500,000) by 5 1/2 lengths, reasserting herself among the premier female sprinters in the United States.
The victory also guaranteed her a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) on October 31 at Keeneland—a race that, as trainer Chad Brown indicated, will likely mark the conclusion of her racing career before she goes under the hammer at public auction.
Saratoga and Ways and Means share a special bond. Six of her seven career wins have come at the Spa, beginning with her sensational 12 3/4-length debut romp in August 2023. Her only defeat at the venue was a runner-up effort.
This time, she was back at her absolute best. The daughter of Practical Joke entered the Ballerina off a head victory over Grand Job (Justify) in the Bed o’ Roses (G2), also at Saratoga—a hard-fought effort that Brown viewed as a crucial building block to restore her to the form that saw her capture the Test Stakes (G1) in 2024.
The task was far from simple, facing three G1 winners in R Disaster (Awesome Slew), Kilwin (Twirling Candy), and Eclatant (Into Mischief). Yet Ways and Means made the race look far less complicated than anticipated.
Flavien Prat, who enjoyed a stellar five-win day, unhurriedly positioned her four-wide in fourth while Maida(Improbable) set off to dictate the pace, tracked by R Disaster and Echo Sound (Echo Town).
The early splits were blistering: 21s91/100 for the opening quarter-mile and 44s33/100 for the half. Ways and Means, however, traveled with complete composure.
“I think she’s always shown how good she is. Before, it was perhaps more raw talent; now she’s become much more manageable. The combination of those two things allowed her to deliver a great performance today,” Prat explained.
R Disaster ranged up to tackle Maida around the far turn, briefly taking command, but Ways and Means was already looming large on the outside. Prat tried to hold her together a bit longer, but his mount had other plans.
“She was traveling so comfortably behind the pace, and I didn’t want to make my move too early, but she started dragging me up there on her own. She wanted to go, so I let her advance. When we hit the stretch, she responded perfectly,” the jockey added.
From there, the race was effectively over. Ways and Means struck the front effortlessly and opened up an insurmountable lead in a matter of strides. She crossed the wire 5 1/2 lengths clear of Kilwin, with Beauty Reigns(Into Mischief) third and Echo Sound fourth, stopping the clock in 1m22s05/100.
“A really good mare beat us today. She’s probably the best female sprinter in the country,” acknowledged Rusty Arnold, trainer of runner-up Kilwin.
For Brown, who earned his second Ballerina victory following Goodnight Olive’s (Ghostzapper) success in 2022, the win carried extra sentiment. Having trained both her sire, Practical Joke, and her dam, Strong Incentive, he has long considered the mare one of the most physically attractive horses to ever pass through his barn.
Ways and Means elevated her record to 7 wins from 13 starts—five of them in graded stakes—and looks to have fully recaptured the dominant form that made her one of the standout figures of her generation.
Brown has no plans to run her again before Keeneland.
“From here to the Breeders’ Cup, I don’t think she’ll run again. She performs very well fresh. After her last race, she was a bit tired, so we gave her time to recover, and I think we’ll follow the same script now,” he explained.
The Breeders’ Cup looks set to be her ultimate swansong. But Saratoga has already bid its farewell—and Ways and Means made sure it was one for the history books.
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