Dream Tree, Midnight Bisou Meet Again in Santa Ysabel

After losing the first two editions of the Dream Tree vs. Midnight Bisou rivalry by the slimmest of margins, trainer Bill Spawr is hopeful the third leg of the matchup will go his way.

The 78-year-old has always been high on Midnight Bisou, a Midnight Lute  filly owned by Allen Racing and Bloom Racing Stable, but her first two starts were brutal nose defeats to Dream Tree—first in a six-furlong maiden special weight event at Santa Anita Park Oct. 27 and then in the seven-furlong Desi Arnaz Stakes Nov. 18 at Del Mar.

BALAN: Dream Tree Holds Off Midnight Bisou in Desi Arnaz

Finally, with a clean trip and away from the Bob Baffert-trained Dream Tree for the first time in the Jan. 7 Santa Ynez Stakes (G2), Midnight Bisou romped by 4 1/2 lengths. Now she will try to turn the tables on Dream Tree in the $100,000 Santa Ysabel Stakes (G3) March 3 at Santa Anita.

"Bob and I talk about it, and we're having some fun, but we hope it's our turn," Spawr said of the budding rivalry between the two fillies. "If we're going to be eyeball-to-eyeball at the sixteenth pole, I'll go with us."

BALAN: Midnight Bisou Breaks Through in Santa Ynez

While Midnight Bisou stayed sprinting after their first two meetings, Dream Tree stretched out and has largely been unchallenged since. Undefeated in four starts, Phoenix Thoroughbreds' Uncle Mo  filly took the Dec. 9 Starlet Stakes (G1) by 3 1/4 lengths to cap her 2-year-old season, then kicked off her 2018 campaign with a 3 3/4-length victory in the Feb. 4 Las Virgenes Stakes (G2).

"I might scratch now," Baffert joked, as he watched both fillies school through Santa Anita's paddock area March 1. "(Midnight Bisou) looks good.

"I want it easy. I want a walk in the park like last time," Baffert added, still in the joking mood. "But they're both good fillies. It's going to be tough."

Weather could be a factor, however, as a storm in Southern California is expected to hit Thursday night and Friday, with the possibility of spilling over into Saturday. While Baffert said he was unsure if he'd run Dream Tree on an off track, Spawr indicated his filly might thrive on a wet surface.

"I think she'll love it," Spawr said. "I told (jockey) Mike (Smith) after her last work that we might catch an off track, and he said, 'All the better.' She's got these little feet, which are good for the mud. We used to call them 'Dixie Cup' feet. Those little feet just get through it better."

While Midnight Bisou's hooves may be small, Spawr has always thought of her as a two-turn filly because of her long body, long stride, and her mind.

"She relaxes and she's controllable," Spawr said of the dark bay, who has either stalked the pace or closed from behind in all three of her starts. "She's a push-button filly, and she's got that long stride and long body."

For Dream Tree, Baffert envisions the road to a potential start in the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) as a tough test and doesn't anticipate another easy win, even though he was impressed with her Las Virgenes effort because he didn't think she was fully cranked for the race.

BALAN: Dream Tree Gallops to Victory in Las Virgenes

"From here on out, it gets tough," Baffert said. "Those last two races (against Midnight Bisou), you couldn't separate them with a pencil. It's going to be a good test. I hope (she's my Oaks horse). I haven't seen any fillies that have really separated themselves ... and I didn't do much with her (before the Las Virgenes) because she got sick and was just coming back, but now she's doing well."

Also in the six-filly field is Ruis Racing's One Fast Broad, who is undefeated on dirt against California-bred competition. The Decarchy filly broke her maiden by a half-length sprinting six furlongs in August, then took the Golden State Juvenile Fillies in November and the Soviet Problem in December. Her tries on turf have not gone as well, but she has hit the board in three of the four starts, including a second-place finish last time out in the California Cup Oaks Feb. 19.

Completing the field is the second Baffert entry, Thirteen Squared, who finished fourth in the Las Virgenes; five-length, last-out maiden winner Spring Lily; and Northern California invader Sweetsongofthenile.

Entries: Santa Ysabel S. (G3)

Santa Anita Park, Saturday, March 03, 2018, Race 6

• Grade III
• 1 1/16m
• Dirt
• $100,000
• 3 yo Fillies
• 3:02 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1One Fast Broad (CA)	Geovanni Franco	120	Mick Ruis	8/1
2	2Spring Lily (KY)	Evin A. Roman	120	John A. Shirreffs	4/1
3	3Midnight Bisou (KY)	Mike E. Smith	120	William Spawr	7/5
4	4Thirteen Squared (KY)	Tyler Baze	120	Bob Baffert	12/1
5	5Sweetsongofthenile (KY)	Flavien Prat	120	Ed Moger, Jr.	20/1
6	6Dream Tree (KY)	Drayden Van Dyke	124	Bob Baffert	6/5