Dream Dance Eyes Shot at Kentucky Oaks

Count Dream Dance among the 3-year-old fillies now being pointed for the Longines Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) in the wake of the April 17 announcement that unbeaten champion Songbird has been declared out after developing what has been termed a low-grade fever.

Terri Burch, who manages the racing operation for owner Jim Stone's Stoneway Farm in Oldham County, Ky., said April 18 that as long as Dream Dance comes out of her April 17 allowance victory at Keeneland in good fashion and trains well, the May 6 Kentucky Oaks will be the target.

The 1 1/16-mile entry-level allowance race originally was designed as a bridge between the March 26 Fair Grounds Oaks and the May 20 Black-Eyed Susan Sakes (both gr. II).

In her first start of the year, Dream Dance finished second in the Fair Grounds Oaks behind Land Over Sea, who had been finishing second and third repeatedly behind Songbird in California. Dream Dance also has a pair of thirds in the Pocahontas Stakes and Golden Rod Stakes (gr. II) last fall at Churchill Downs.

Trainer Neil Howard said there are three factors involved in the decision, assuming the filly is doing well.

"The fact that she ran as well as she did against Land Over Sea off a layoff; a mile and an eighth should be doable for her; and of course the obvious one that everybody is looking at is the fact that Songbird isn't in there," Howard said. "That doesn't change the fact that it's a very, very tough Kentucky Oaks."

Burch, who also is program coordinator for the University of Louisville's equine industry program, said Songbird being out "made all the difference."

"I didn't want to go up against Songbird," she said, "because it's expensive to get your horse ready and go into the Oaks. I'd looked at a lot of the (speed) figures and everything. With Songbird in there, you're running for second or third, where you could have gone to another race, say the Black-Eyed Susan, and had a better shot to win that race. Then you'd come out monetarily ahead than if you ran third, fourth, fifth or something like that, in the Oaks.

"And you'd have your graded stakes win, which I was looking at. We're a small operation, so it's important to us to develop these fillies so we can have broodmare material and we bring them home."

But the Oaks field now "is pretty much on equal footing," Burch said. "While some have performed a little bit better than the others, I feel she has the pedigree to really go a mile and an eighth."

Burch said she and Stone attempted to buy Dream Dance's second and third dam, the multiple graded-stakes winner Katz Me If You Can and grade I winner Cuddles, out of the Overbrook Farm dispersal, "but they went way too high for us." Instead, they purchased Dream Dance for $50,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October yearling sale.

She's a daughter of the Gainesway stallion Afleet Alex  , who won the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes (both gr. I) in 2005 and was voted champion 3-year-old male.

"He was very tough-minded," Burch said. "After his stumble in the Preakness (when another horse came over and nearly dropped him) and then to come on, he's everything you want. She has been bashed around in a couple of races and keeps on going on. Even though she's not a very big filly, she's very hard-knocking.

"We're very happy with her. She tries; that's what you want in a horse. You rather them not have quite perfect conformation but have the heart and the effort they put in. If you don't have that, it's like they're show ponies."