But Looky Yonder recovered from her poor break and came flying up the rail under Garrett Gomez to catch the odds-on favorite in the final strides to win by a length May 25 on the Belmont Park dirt. It was the first graded stakes score in four tries for the 4-year-old daughter of Johannesburg.
Dream Rush, who had not started since finishing fifth in the Oct. 26 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint at Monmouth Park, settled for second under Eibar Coa. Baroness Thatcher was third. Owned by Lansdon B. Robbins III and trained by Rick Dutrow Jr., Looky Yonder stopped the clock in 1:17.63 on a fast track. She went off as the 9-1 fourth choice in a field of five.
Coa rushed Dream Rush straight to the front after breaking alertly from post three. The 4-year-old Wild Rush filly burned the opening quarter in :22.04. She still had a four-length advantage over Any Limit after a :45.22 half-mile. Baroness Thatcher was a length further back, followed by Sangrita and Looky Yonder, who was more than 11 lengths off the lead.
Dream Rush had a four-length advantage at the top of the stretch with no threat in sight. But like a blur, Looky Yonder was angled towards the rail and loomed as a legitimate challenge at the sixteenth-pole. She passed her tiring rival in the final strides.
“It’s nice to have a filly so versatile,” Gomez said. “In the paddock, Rick told me to let her run her race. She took the dirt nicely.”
Dutrow said: “I told Garrett in the paddock to hope for second and plan on that. I didn’t like the timing of the race for us. I did think we had a legitimate chance to be second or third. It worked out better than we hoped. She must really like this track.
“We’re going to let her party and relax, and get over this one. This was an amazing run by her, and she will need 40-50 days off.”
The winner paid $21.60, $6.10 and $2.60. The exacta (5-3) returned $52, while the trifecta (5-3-6) was worth $93.
Looky Yonder entered the Vagrancy off a one-length victory in allowance-optional claiming company May 9 on the Belmont slop. It was her second victory in four starts this year for Dutrow, who took over conditioning duties from Ken McPeek. The bay filly made her only stakes start of the year in the April 9 Madison Stakes (gr. II) at Keeneland, but finished tenth.
Out of the Vice Regent mare Victorian Angel, Looky Yonder was bred in Kentucky by James and Janice Millar. She has earned $227,835 from 11 career starts.
Dream Rush's trainer, Rick Violette Jr., said this race should serve his filly just fine.
“She ran hard," he said. "Seven months off is a long layoff, and this was not an `a other than.’ There were some nice fillies in there, and you knew she was going to be sharp. She got a little tired at the end. But she’s back, and this race will only help her.”
Dream Rush won four graded stakes as a 3-year-old, including the Test Stakes (gr. I) and Prioress Stakes (gr. I) last summer.
Bedside Story was scratched.
(Chart, Equibase)