Interstatedaydream Drives Home in the Black-Eyed Susan

Staton Flurry's Interstatedaydream , the 6-1 third choice in a 13-horse field of sophomore fillies, was dominant in the stretch run of the May 20 George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (G2) at Pimlico Race Course. 

Interstatedaydream, an Ontario-bred daughter of Classic Empire  , was a convincing 1 1/4-length winner of the Black-Eyed Susan over 2-1 favorite Adare Manor . It was a length back to Radio Days  in third. The hopes of Maryland were vanquished, with Divine Huntress  finishing fourth and Luna Belle  finishing a tired 11th.

Flurry, who has been a Thoroughbred owner for about a decade, now has another serious filly on his hands to go along with 2020 Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner Shedaresthedevil . Both of Flurry's stars are trained by Brad Cox and have been ridden by Florent Geroux.

"All wins are great whether it is a $5,000 claimer or a grade 1. They all mean a lot," said Flurry after the race.

Beguine , the also-eligible who didn't get into the Kentucky Oaks two weeks ago, broke sharp and set the early pace in the Black-Eyed Susan while being tracked by Interstatedaydream and Adare Manor. The early fractions of the nine-furlong race clicked off in :23.34, :46.65, and 1:10.46. Geroux sat a cool trip aboard the winner, biding his time while just two lengths back. Interstatedaydream pounced on the turn and she quickly found the lead at the head of the stretch. She opened up by two lengths as she cruised past the mile in 1:35.53. The final time was 1:48.73.

"It set up perfect. She broke great and Flo ran a good race," Flurry said. "The pace just came back to us."

"She was very comfortable during the race and she had something left down the lane," Geroux said. "I was really expecting Adare Manor to be a little bit forwardly placed. But when (jockey) Johnny (Velazquez) was content to sit right off of me, I just look advantage of it."

Cox was not on hand at Pimlico, but Flurry had a ton of confidence.

"We talked last night and he said she's been training really good," he said. 

Flurry, with an assist from bloodstock agent Clay Scherer, purchased Interstatedaydream for $175,000 at last year's Ocala Breeders' Sales Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training from Ciaran Dunne's Wavertree Stables, agent. She was a $105,000 short yearling buy at the 2020 Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale by Rascal Bloodstock from the estate of William D. Graham's Windhaven Farms. She sold again to Lehigh Bloodstock for $130,000 at Keeneland's September Yearling Sale from the Paramount Sales consignment.

"She had a great work at the OBS training sale," Scherer said. "Ciaran Dunne had her in good shape. She was a little immature coming in, but you could tell she was getting better each day. Ciaran said, 'Trust me, she's a good horse.'

"Everything she did, she just got better each time. She grew up and filled out."

Scherer has been working for Flurry since he entered the business. Scherer helped him claim his first horse at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., and the horse won. The next purchase for the bloodstock agent was Shedaresthedevil.

The score was the bay filly's third from five starts. The $150,000 first prize boosted her earnings to $351,225. 

She broke her maiden at first asking last June at Saratoga Race Course going 5 1/2 furlongs and was second behind Wicked Halo in the 6 1/2-furlong Adirondack Stakes (G2) at the Spa.

This year she scored an eye-opening 8 1/4-length victory over allowance optional claiming foes at Oaklawn March 13. Flurry and Cox pressed her into Keeneland's April 8 Central Bank Ashland Stakes (G1) where she ran a good third behind Nest and Cocktail Moments.

"The two and a half, three weeks between the Oaklawn allowance and the Ashland was just a little too close," Flurry said. "We knew that going in, but we took a shot. She did romp at Oaklawn and it wasn't so much how much she beat the other horses by, but it was the time she ran it in (1 1/16 miles in 1:43.31). We tried the Ashland to see if she deserved a shot at the (Kentucky) Oaks; if not, we'll try something else. As soon as she crossed the wire of the Ashland, Brad and I looked at each other and said, 'Let's go to the Black-Eyed Susan.'

"This was good to get her some black type because she's been so close. A black-type win for her gets a little monkey off her back."

The Black-Eyed Susan winner was bred in Ontario by the late William D. Graham and is out of the Uncle Mo   mare Babcock. Babcock's first foal, Emmeline, placed in the Woodbine Oaks Presented by Budweiser. She has an unraced 2-year-old filly by Broken Vow . The unraced Babcock is a half sister to Canadian Horse of the Year Uncaptured  and the stakes-winning Dancing Raven.

"We'll see where we'll go—maybe the Woodbine Oaks—see if we can get a championship," Flurry added after the race. 

Video: George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan S. (G2)