DAVONA DALE S. (gr. II ), Gulfstream Park , February 23, 2013 , $250,000 Guaranteed , value of race $290,000 , 3 yo , 1 1/16 miles , 1:42.30 Dirt FT .

Lee Lewis’ Live Lively needed to be at her best in the Davona Dale Stakes (gr. II) at Gulfstream Park Feb. 23. The 3-year-old Medaglia d’Oro filly would be running in her first stakes and facing last year’s Frizette Stakes (gr. I) winner and odds-on favorite Dreaming of Julia. Live Lively, who had prepped for the race with an 111/4-length score at Gulfstream Jan. 1, went right to the front in the 11/16-mile Davona Dale and stayed there, beating Dreaming of Julia by 11/2 lengths.

The victory was the second in a stakes in the last five months for Lewis, whose filly Baffle Me won the Banner Gala Stakes at Belmont Park in October.

Live Lively was bred in Kentucky by Edward A. Cox Jr. and was raised at Hermitage Farm near Goshen, Ky. Consigned by John J. Greely III, agent for Cox, Live Lively was sold during the fourth session of the Keeneland September yearling sale and was purchased by Lavin Bloodstock for $160,000 on behalf of Cox. The price was more than double the sale average of $76,511.

Lewis, from Lubbock, Texas, has raced homebred graded stakes winners Better Now and Primary Suspect, plus non-homebred graded winners Mystic Lady and Strategic Partner. Mystic Lady turned out to be Lewis’ best runner, winning eight stakes, five of which were graded, including the 2001 Jersey Derby (gr. III) against males.

Cox bought Live Lively’s stakes-winning dam, Glacken’s Gal, for $250,000 at the 2008 Keeneland January horses of all ages sale from the consignment of Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent. Glacken’s Gal, whose stakes win came in the Astoria Stakes in New York, was bred that year to Indian Charlie and produced a filly in 2009.

Glacken’s Gal, who is boarded at Hermitage, also is the dam of Glacken’s Gift, a 2-year-old full sister to Live Lively, and a yearling filly by Elusive Quality. Glacken's Gal is in foal to Uncle Mo and is tentatively booked to Hard Spun.

Medaglia d’Oro, best known as the sire of 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra, has sired 39 stakes winners. He stands for $100,000 at Sheikh Mohammed’s Darley near Lexington.—D.S.

GULFSTREAM OAKS (gr. II ), Gulfstream Park , March 30, 2013 , $300,000 Guaranteed , value of race $340,000 , 3 yo , 1 1/8 miles , 1:48.97 Dirt FT .

Even prominent trainer Todd Pletcher, who has saddled many horses for impressive performances throughout his career, was a bit stunned by Dreaming of Julia’s breathtaking 213/4-length triumph in the March 30 Gulfstream Oaks (gr. II).

“We felt she was training as well as ever and she was coming up to it in good order. But, honestly, I can’t say I was expecting that kind of victory,” said Pletcher of the Stonestreet Stables homebred filly.

Dreaming of Julia has demonstrated the ability to dominate her opposition in the past, capturing her first two career starts last year by nearly 27 lengths. The daughter of A.P. Indy then won a close battle, scoring a grade I victory in the Frizette Stakes by a head. She closed out her 2-year-old campaign with a respectable third-place finish in the Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (gr. I) at Santa Anita Park, and then was runner-up to Live Lively in her 3-year-old debut in the Davona Dale Stakes (gr. II).

In all, Dreaming of Julia boasts a record of 4-1-1 from six starts, for earnings of $767,000. The Gulfstream Oaks winner will be pointed for the Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) at Churchill Downs on May 3, said Pletcher.

Bred in Kentucky, the bay filly is out of the four-time graded stakes-winning Wild Rush mare Dream Rush, who scored her biggest victories in the 2007 Darley Test (gr. I) and Prioress (gr. I) stakes.

The same year as those feats, Dream Rush was bought for $3.3 million by Halsey Minor at the 2007 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November mixed sale through D. Easter, agent. Hill ‘n’ Dale Sales Agency consigned as agent.

Dreaming of Julia is the first offspring out of Dream Rush, who also has a 2-year-old Medaglia d’Oro colt and a yearling Distorted Humor filly.

Dream Rush is kept at Barbara Banke’s Stonestreet Farm near Lexington, which is represented as owner of other 2013 graded stakes winner Kauai Katie. Dreaming of Julia’s dam is carrying a Tapit colt and was due March 27. Breeding plans for 2014 are undecided.

A.P. Indy, the sire of 148 stakes winners, stood at William S. Farish’s Lane’s End Farm near Versailles, Ky., until he was pensioned in 2011.—E.M.