In Saturday’s $125,000 Woodhaven, a one-mile inner turf test for sophomores, at Aqueduct Racetrack, D.J. Stable’s Dream On emerged victorious after a blanket finish to record his maiden stakes triumph. Along with a third place finish in the Summer (G1) at Woodbine and a close fifth place in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) at Del Mar in November, the dark bay son of Not This Time, trained by Mark Casse and skillfully piloted by Javier Castellano, avenged an off-the-board finish last out in the Columbia in March at Tampa Bay Downs. Dream On was unhurried as the Kendrick Carmouche-led Sounds Like a Plan surged to the front after emerging from post three in a field of seven front to overtake command from Cairo Caper and mark the opening quarter-mile in 24.03 seconds over the good footing.
Castellano stated that he was happy to delegate the tough lifting to Cairo Caper and Sounds Like a Plan in advance. “Those two horses seemed to have the speed today, and I didn’t want to get into a speed duel because horses can get overly excited on soft ground and end up exhausted,” Castellano stated. “With the horse, I wanted to feel more secure. He finished pretty well, and it looked to me that he could go far if you were patient at the start of the race. While Sounds Like a Plan maintained a comfortable lead through the half-mile in 49.25, Dream On lurked down the rail behind the top pair, with Tiz Dashing at his heels and Septarian trailing behind.
Before the two of them angled to the outside of a recalcitrant Sounds Like a Plan at the head of the lane, Castellano steered his charge along the inside of the turn and faced Cairo Caper. Dream On got closer inside the final furlong and gained control close to the sixteenth pole, but Cairo Caper faded and Sounds Like a Plan dug in through three-quarters in 1:13.30. In a spectacular finish, Septarian surged between opponents from far behind the pace, with the favorite Revolutionnaire finding his best stride a path wider. The top two seemed to be pulling away from their rivals, but a slew of contenders caught up late. In the shadow of the wire, Septarian advanced with enormous strides, but Dream On had just enough late to repel the challenge and win by a neck in a final time of 1:38.06.
Revolutionnaire was a nose back in fourth place, while Septarian was a head ahead of the fearless pacesetter Sounds Like a Plan in second place. With only four lengths separating the entire field in the close finish, End of Romance, Tiz Dashing, and Cairo Caper completed the order of finish. Castellano claimed that during his successful seasonal bow in a January optional claimer at Gulfstream Park, he drew on his experience with Dream On. “The first time I rode the horse at Gulfstream, I discovered a lot about him. Castellano noted, “It seemed to me that he liked to cover up a bit and make one run.” I did precisely that today. I covered up and saved the other two while allowing them to engage in a speed duel the ground.
He did a great job today. The way he matured on his own was incredible.” Septarian, who was ridden by Flavien Prat and trained by Chad Brown, was making his turf debut in his first appearance since finishing off the board in the Risen Star (G2) at Fair Grounds in February. More ground in the future will probably help the Protonico gelding, according to Prat. Prat clarified, “I lost position because I was having trouble keeping up with the pace.” He eventually appeared in the final eight and a half miles because I was unable to keep up. I wish I could have kept him somewhat more competitive, but I believe he will be fine if I can simply gain more ground.” Born to Aaron and Marie Jones in Kentucky, Dream On was a $380,000 OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training purchase and is out of the graded stakes-winning Discreet Cat mare Mamma Kimbo, who also produced stakes winner Balandeen. He banked $68,750 in victory while returning $10 on a $2 win ticket.
