Dream Pauline Lands Sweet Victory in Sugar Swirl
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Photo: Coglianese Photos
Dream Pauline (inside) holds off Stormy Embrace in the Sugar Swirl Stakes at Gulfstream Park
Stonestreet Stables' Dream Pauline took a rainy day in stride Dec. 15 and gamely held off rival Stormy Embrace to win the $100,000 Sugar Swirl Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park.
The lightly raced 3-year-old daughter of Tapit out of multiple grade 1 winner Dream Rush rated second in the six-furlong test on a sloppy (sealed) track, while Surprise Wedding put up opening fractions of :22.73 and :46.26. Dream Pauline and jockey Javier Castellano took the lead as the field turned for home and turned back Princess Rooney Stakes (G2) winner Stormy Embrace after that rival loomed with a strong, late rally.
"She broke sharp out of the gate and put me in a good spot all the way in the race," Castellano said. "I was able to control the race, and I liked the way she finished. She looked around a little bit in the last sixteenth pole, but she was engaged when she saw the other horse outside, and I think it was a great performance today."
Dream Pauline covered the distance in 1:11.10 and returned $5.40 as the 8-5 favorite in a field of eight.
"We don't even train much on a track like this, so we didn't know how she would handle it, but she went well," trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said. "It was great that she broke well from the outside … and then just sat there, beautiful trip. He said she started looking around a little bit late, waiting, but when the horse came to her, she dug back in. It's such an important win for this filly with her pedigree and the connections, to win for Barbara (Banke) and Stonestreet, so it was a huge win."
Dream Pauline broke her maiden at first asking Dec. 3, 2017, at Aqueduct Racetrack, then went unraced until an Aug. 2 allowance at Saratoga Race Course, which she also won. Next she was third in the Nov. 4 Dream Supreme Stakes at Churchill Downs. The Sugar Swirl was her fourth start.
"We decided to give her a little time off, little issues, but she's just been a little bit unlucky not to run a little more often," McLaughlin said. "She got sick right before the (grade 2) Prioress (Stakes), and she's been unlucky, but today we were lucky and it paid us back. Hopefully, she'll be back on Jan. 26 in the Hurricane Bertie (Stakes, G3)."