Stonestreet Stable's homebred prodigy runner Dreaming of Julia will finally have the opportunity to show her talents at the grade I level when the juvenile filly faces six others in the Oct. 6 Frizette at Belmont Park.
The one-turn mile contest, worth $400,000 for 2-year-old fillies, is a Breeders' Cup Challenge "Win and You're In" race, with the winner automatically qualifying for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (gr. I).
Named for James R. Keene's stakes-winning racemare who became one of the most important foundation mares of the 20th century, the Frizette is the seventh race on the card and is slated for 4:02 p.m. EDT. All fillies will carry 120 pounds.
Trained by Todd Pletcher, Dreaming of Julia is unbeaten in two starts. She burst onto the racing scene with an eye-popping 10 1/2-length victory in her debut at Saratoga Race Course Aug. 6. That was followed by a 16 1/4-length score in the one-mile Meadow Star Stakes at Belmont Sept. 9.
The royally-bred filly has earnings of $99,000.
Dreaming of Julia is by A.P. Indy out of sprinter Dream Rush (by Wild Rush), whose stakes victories included the Test and Prioress (both gr. I), Nassau County (gr. II), and Old Hat (gr. III).
She is one of two of star juvenile fillies owned by Stonestreet, which also campaigns Kauai Katie, winner of the Sept. 30 Matron (gr. II) at Belmont.
"The obvious reason (we targeted the Frizette with Dreaming of Julia) is that she's a daughter of A.P. Indy, and the way she trains and the way she ran in her debut suggests that added distance won't be a problem," said Pletcher. "In the case of keeping her and Kauai Katie separated, it was really based on the type of fillies they are. They're both fast, but one is bred to go long and the other filly might go long at some point but seems to be a gifted sprinter. We were lucky we had two good options for them."
Dreaming of Julia, installed at 2-5 odds on the morning line, will depart from post 7 with John Velazquez aboard.
Also posing a threat in the Frizette is My Happy Face, who will negotiate an extra 2 1/2 furlongs off a 21 1/4-length maiden win Aug. 31 at Saratoga. The Frizette will be her third start as she was second to Teen Pauline in July at the Spa.
"We're excited to see her run, and hopefully she runs the way we're expecting," said Rudy Rodriguez, who trains My Happy Face for Michael Dubb.
"This race is tough; Todd Pletcher has a beast in there," Rodriguez said. "This is the nicest spot we could pick for her, and hopefully it's the right one. She's a very big, scopey filly and I think she can go the distance, but we won't know until we try it. This is a good time to try her. Hopefully she shows the speed she showed last time, and hopefully she'll be able to rate a little bit, and hopefully she'll be able to go the distance. At this time of the year, anything is possible. The horses are still immature and the competition is deep, but I think we have a very good chance."
My Happy Face, a daughter of Tiz Wonderful, has morning line odds of 4-1 and will leave from post 2 with Ramon Dominguez aboard.
Other competition in the Frizette comes from Spinaway (gr. I) runner up Sweet Shirley Mae and Rovering Patrol, a runaway stakes victor in her last start.
Sweet Shirley Mae, a daughter of Broken Vow −Joyful Chaos, by Rahy, is trained by Wesley Ward for Ice Win Stable. The filly broke her maiden at Belmont Park May 9 and was second by 2 1/2 lengths to So Many Ways after a long drive in the Spinaway Sept. 2.
Ridden by Joel Rosario, she will break from post 5.
Rovering Patrol, undefeated in two starts, is trained by Don Munger, who owns the homebred filly with his wife.
Bred in Washington, the daughter of Nacheezmo graduated at Emerald Downs June 15, followed by an 8 1/2-length score in the restricted Diane Kem Stakes at the same track.
Nancy O, who is switching to dirt off a third in the Natalma (gr. IIT) over the Woodbine turf, and maiden winners Toasting and Carameaway complete the Frizette field.