Month: November 2023

After Six Starts for Hall of Famer Pletcher, Dreamlike Remains a Work in Progress

Patience has been key for Dreamlike, a son of Gun Runner, who most recently was second in the Pennsylvania Derby (G1) with blinkers off. Jockey Jose Ortiz will replace his brother Irad in the irons Saturday for the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). After pre-entering in the Classic and the Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1), Pletcher and his owners, Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable, opted for the Classic.

“He's a horse that we've always had high hopes for,” Pletcher said. “He's a beautiful, expensive yearling, very well-bred, a very good-looking horse. A little bit temperamental when he first came in, very studdish. We tried to get him going at 2. Then ended up having to give him a little time off. He came back and he was training exceptionally well. Couldn't quite break through with that win. We took a shot in the Wood Memorial (G2), which he ran very well in (finishing third by a head).”

After the April 8 Wood, Dreamlike did not race again until July 14 at Saratoga. He broke his maiden impressively, but stumbled at the start of an Aug. 13 allowance race and was beaten 13 lengths.

“We regrouped in Pennsylvania Derby,” Pletcher said. “We made an equipment change, took the blinkers off after getting some feedback from Irad. He felt like maybe we're asking the horse to stay a little closer early in the race than he wanted to. So our strategy in the Pennsylvania Derby was just let him relax settle where he's comfortable and make one run, which he did very well. Unfortunately for him, the horse to beat got an easy pace up front and didn't have anyone going with him.”

Pletcher said the expected pace challenge to Saudi Crown never materialized.

“I thought, despite that, that Dreamlike ran very well to close into those fractions against a good horse like that. He has trained well since. He and Bright Future have been pretty much workmates the last few times and it seems like they are pretty evenly matched up there.”

Considering the Pennsylvania Derby performance, Pletcher said the Classic looked to be a better spot for Dreamlike.

“It seems like on paper that the Classic, at a mile and a quarter, actually has more pace in it than the Dirt Mile does, which you wouldn't expect. I just felt like if we're going to allow him to run the way he wants, so he'll make one run, that wasn't going to be very effective in the mile if there's not a real pace. It felt like the additional quarter and hopefully an honest pace makes a difference. He obviously needs to step up and run better than he ever has in his life.”

Missed the Cut Looks to Make the Cut in Breeders' Cup Classic 

The word was out that a son of Lane's End Farm stallion Quality Road named Missed the Cut was making some noise in Great Britain – and the word reached Bill Farish.

“He got off to a strong start and he's a Quality Road and we don't miss too many of those,” said Farish, a two-time Chairman of the Breeders' Cup Board and whose family owns Lane's End Farm.

Missed the Cut won three of his first four starts on the grass for owner Edward Babington and trainer George Boughey with two of the victories coming at a mile and a quarter.

“He jumped out at us and it looked like he could run well on the dirt as well,” Farish said. “We got a call and we got in touch with Ed Babington, who kept a share, then a lot of people got together … Vinnie (Viola of St. Elias Stables) was interested and the Hudsons (Edward and Lynne), so we went and did it.”

Off-the-board finishes in two Group 2 grass tests sandwiched a minor stakes victory over an all-weather surface at Lingfield in the first three starts for the new ownership group. After Missed the Cut finished fourth in the Neom Turf Cup (G2) in Saudi Arabia at the end of February, trainer John Sadler got a call.

“They told me after he ran in Saudi that he would be coming,” said Sadler, who just months before had savored the moment of Flightline's tour de force in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Keeneland.

The success of Flightline was one reason Missed the Cut came to Sadler in April.

“Coming on the heels of Flightline, plus John does a great job and we thought he always does well with older horses and it matched up well,” Farish said of sending Missed the Cut to California.

Missed the Cut made his debut for Sadler at Santa Anita on June 11, finishing second in a mile race on the dirt.

“He was a nice colt,” Sadler said of his initial impressions, “and he ran well in his debut.”

A seventh-place finish behind Senor Buscador in the San Diego Handicap (G2) going a mile and a sixteenth followed.

“In the San Diego, the setup was not good and he was too close to the pace,” Sadler said. “Then we ran him on grass at Del Mar, but when we came back up here, he really liked the dirt track here at Santa Anita.”

Missed the Cut responded to the return on dirt by posting a 5 1/2-length win in the Tokyo City (G3) on Oct. 1 at Santa Anita going a mile and a half. Going forward, Sadler said the plan is to stay at a mile and a quarter on the dirt.

Which is the test that awaits Missed the Cut on Saturday in the Longines Breeders Cup Classic (G1) and a chance to give Sadler back-to-back wins in the $6 million race. Luis Saez has the mount Saturday.

“I am an optimist,” Sadler said. “I look forward to the 2-year-olds coming in and I am not wondering if this is the next Flightline. I am optimistic about our 2-year-olds and the ones coming in.”

The post Classic: Dreamlike Still A Work In Progress, Miss The Cut Out To Make The Cut appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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