Fun to Dream Comes From Last for Santa Monica Score
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Photo: Benoit Photo
Fun to Dream draws clear in the Santa Monica Stakes at Santa Anita Park
Fun to Dream surprised both trainer Bob Baffert and his wife, Jill, who co-owns the filly with Connie Pageler, when she ran last early in the seven-furlong Santa Monica Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita Park Feb. 4. The 4-year-old filly hadn't done that before, but she demonstrated a new dimension in coming from behind for an easy win.
Jill was out of town and wasn't able to witness the Santa Monica at Santa Anita in person. She called Bob right after the race.
"She was so excited about the way Fun to Dream won from off the pace," said Baffert.
In her previous races, Fun to Dream has been more forwardly placed, most recently running third early in the Dec. 26 La Brea Stakes (G1) and winning by three-quarters of a length. At the start of the Santa Monica, Anacapa on the rail got away faster than Fun to Dream in post 2 and battled for the lead early with Samurai Charm . As the field headed down the backstretch, Fun to Dream was sixth and last.
"She broke, but they just ran away from her," Baffert said. "She left there and I could tell she was taking dirt. (Hernandez) was telling me she wasn't liking it at first. He just sat there, and I thought, 'I hope he knows what he's doing.' But he rides her with so much confidence."
While giving most of the field a head start might have appeared to be a disadvantage, Fun to Dream actually had the race well in hand and Hernandez knew it. She moved up on the inside, passed a horse on the turn, and then shifted into high gear for the stretch run.
Samurai Charm had taken the lead briefly as Anacapa began to backpedal. But Awake At Midnyte quickly engaged Samurai Charm and soon put her head in front.
Hernandez brought Fun to Dream outside of both leaders in the stretch, and the little gray filly swept by them, ultimately crossing the wire 2 1/2 lengths ahead of Awake At Midnyte and stopping the clock in 1:22.75.
"She broke pretty good, but I couldn't keep with the pace in front of me, so she relaxed well behind horses," Hernandez said. "Around the three-eighths, I felt like I had a lot of horse. Last time turning for home, she exploded and passed everybody, and today she did the exact same thing."
Samurai Charm finished another 2 1/4 lengths back in third. Fun to Dream, the 1-2 favorite, defeated Awake At Midnyte for the second time, as they also ran 1-2 in the La Brea.
"She's getting better and better," said Baffert. "We've let her mature."
Fun to Dream is a 4-year-old California-bred daughter of Arrogate , who blossomed late in his sophomore season for Baffert to win an Eclipse Award as the 2016 champion 3-year-old male. The trainer put up one of his breeding rights to the stallion for Mike Pageler's mare Lutess , an inexpensive claim who had produced the hard-knocking three-time stakes winner Heck Yeah .
Pageler lived only long enough to know Lutess was in foal to Arrogate, and his wife, Connie, has carried on Mike's dream. Connie and Bob Baffert are Fun to Dream's breeders, and Connie campaigns the filly with Jill.
"Fun to Dream looked so good today," Baffert said. "Coming into this race she was doing the best I've seen her do. For her to start kicking clear there at the end, it just shows that now she's ready to go a mile, two turns. So we'll wait for the (March 11) Beholder Mile (G1)."