Mark Casse admitted earlier in the week before the $300,000 Del Mar Oaks Presented by the Jockey Club (G1T), that he just wanted to keep his two quality John Oxley-owned fillies apart.
On Aug. 19, about 3,000 miles apart, both ran in graded stakes—and the horse who was sent out of town took down her first grade 1.
Hours after La Coronel finished fourth in the Lake Placid Stakes (G2T) at Saratoga Race Course, Dream Dancing got the best of a blanket finish in the 1 1/8-mile Oaks at Del Mar.
Video: Del Mar Oaks Presented by The Jockey Club (G1T)
Closers reigned in the final stages—as Dream Dancing and Beau Recall took the outside route, while last-out San Clemente Handicap (G2T) winner Madam Dancealot went through on the inside—but the result wasn't known until Dream Dancing's "10" flashed up on the Del Mar tote board.
Under jockey Julien Leparoux, the Tapit filly just got her nose down in front of Beau Recall, who hit the wire a neck in front of Madam Dancealot.
"I've had my fair share of bad beats in my career, but this one has to rank right up there," said jockey Joe Talamo of his mount Beau Recall, who earned her fourth stakes runner-up since relocating to the U.S. from Ireland. "Nasty. I had a good trip, she fought when that other filly came up outside her, but we just got beat."
The final time was 1:48.06 and the result ended a four-race winless streak for Dream Dancing, following her breakthrough score in the Herecomesthebride Stakes (G3T) at Gulfstream Park March 4.
"The last time I rode her, I asked her at the three-eighths pole and she got a little weary at the end," Leparoux said of Dream Dancing's seventh-place finish in the Lake George (G3T) at Saratoga July 21. "This time I tried to wait as long as I could, and she was still strong at the finish. This feels good. A win is a win, no matter where you get it."
Blame It On Alphie and Meadowsweet broke from the gate best, and Blame It On Alphie set fractions of :23.61, :47.27, and 1:11.63 through six furlongs. The Blame filly didn't last, though, as the race turned into a scramble in the stretch. Con Te Partiro, who was the narrow second choice at 7-2, may have had the oddest trip, as she raced in ninth, then dropped back to last in the final turn, and rallied to finish fourth, 1 1/2 lengths behind the top trio.
"There was a good pace up front, which she likes," Casse assistant Julie Stormfelt said of Dream Dancing. "She has more than one run and a very good kick, and when I saw her coming down the stretch, I was screaming—very happy. This is my first time travelling with a horse and it's nice to be a winner."
Meadowsweet held for fifth after attending the pace, and was followed by Vexatious, Storm the Hill, Tapped, Pacific Wind (disqualfied to 10th for interference), Kathy's Song, Kenda, and Blame It On Alphie, to complete the order of finish.
Bred in Kentucky by Oxley, out of the Monarchosmare To Dream About, Dream Dancing now has a 4-2-1 record from 12 starts and $415,210 in earnings.
