HALLANDALE BEACH – John Oxley and Kathy Machesky’s Capture Your Dream is poised for a bid to win back-to-back divisions of the Florida Sire Stakes series Saturday in the $200,000 Susan’s Girl at Gulfstream Park.
The daughter of Ocala Stud Farm's Uncaptured, who captured the $100,000 Desert Vixen at six-furlongs on Aug. 4, is scheduled to meet nine other fillies in the seven-furlong second leg of the series for 2-year-old fillies sired by accredited stallions standing in Florida.
Trainer Mark Casse isn't too concerned about the added distance in Capture Your Dream’s quest to win her third straight race in her third career start.
“Her dad won going 4 ½ and won running a mile and three-sixteenths,” said Casse, who trained Uncaptured, a highly promising first-year sire whose multiple stakes victories include a triumph in the 1 3/16-mile Prince of Wales at Fort Erie in 2013. “She looks like her dad, just a little smaller version of him.”
Bred by Machesky, Capture Your Dream produced a flashy debut at Gulfstream on May 13, scoring by 10 ½ lengths in a performance that caught the eye of Oxley, who owned her multiple graded stakes-winning sire. Oxley struck a deal with Machesky, who maintained an ownership interest, and transferred the Anna Varsi-trained filly to Casse to prepare her for the Desert Vixen.
“She won the race very impressively and we were fortunate enough to make a deal,” Casse said. “I kind of backed off on her, because it was two months [between races]. I thought she might be vulnerable but she still got it done.”
Emisael Jaramillo is named to ride Capture Your Dream, replacing Tyler Gaffalione, who has mounts at Kentucky Downs Saturday.
The seven-furlong distance of the Susan’s Girl is also of no concern for David Fawkes, the trainer of Desert Vixen runner-up Select Friday.
The Kales Company LLC’s daughter of Kantharos, who debuted with an off-the-pace 3 ¼-length victory on July 1, broke slowly from the starting gate in the Desert Vixen before closing to finish 1 ¼ lengths behind Capture Your Dream. “I expect the added distance will help us a lot,” Fawkes said. “I thought she ran huge. I was actually disappointed she didn’t win the first leg, but it didn’t set up well for her.” Nik Juarez has the return mount aboard Select Friday.
Shadybrook Farm’s Nancysaidso, who brought a two-race winning streak into the Desert Vixen, will seek to rebound from a fourth-place finish in the first leg of the series.
“She’s training good. Her last race, although she was beaten about three lengths, was a good effort. Yet it was a little disappointing,” said breeder/owner/trainer Michael Yates. “I think there’s a little bit more there than we got last time.” Yates is hoping for a less stressful trip in the Susan’s Girl than she had last time.
“It was a big field, so my rider was forced to go a little bit. I really don’t think she wants to be sent, but that remains to be seen also. He had to chase the pace a bit due to the field size to keep from getting covered up by a bunch of horses,” Yates said. “If the pace is a little softer than the three-quarters race, I think she’ll run well.”
Nancysaidso surprised her trainer during a ‘maintenance work’ last Saturday when she breezed a half mile in 47.54 seconds, the fastest of 102 workouts at the distance.
“She’s been a filly that looked like she wanted a little more ground to begin with. She got her maiden broke going 5 ½, which was somewhat of a surprise and something that makes me feel better about her,” said Yates, who named Richard Mitchell to ride Nancysaidso for the first time.
Yates is also scheduled to saddle Jessica for a start in the Desert Vixen. Purchased by Yates’ Shadybrook Farm for $8,000 at the 2017 OBS October sale, the daughter of Prospective debuted with a 1 ¼-length victory at Gulfstream on July 28. Samy Camacho has the return mount.
Trainer Stanley Gold, who has saddled the winners of a record 18 FSS races, will be represented by three Arindel homebred fillies, Cookie Dough, Snowzilla and Samoa, in the Susan’s Girl. The three, who are all by Brethren, finished a neck and a head apart while finishing sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively, in the Desert Vixen.
Although Cookie Dough is still looking to graduate, Gold remains confident that she is worthy of competing with the best Florida-bred fillies. She finished third in her first two races after being pushed into the inside rail both times, before setting a pressured pace and fading to sixth under Jeffrey Sanchez in the Desert Vixen.
“She had tough luck twice and then Jeffrey had to send her to get out of there and was pushed by two legit speed horses. She went 45 and change and got tired from her efforts.” Gold said. “She doesn’t need to be there. She needs to be tactically close to the lead and to put in her run when it’s time.”
Snowzilla won one of three start prior to making a strong late run to close from 13th to eighth in the stretch. Samoa, who broke her maiden in her second career start, lagged early in the Desert Vixen before making a belated rally. “She raced wide. She could never get in, but she gave a good kick at the end,” Gold said. “There will be plenty of speed in this race.”
Sanchez will retain the mount on Cookie Dough, while Jonathan Gonzalez and Luca Panici have been named to ride Snowzilla and Samoa, respectively.
Also entered in the Susan’s Girl: Starship Nala, who finished an even fifth in the Desert Vixen, Blazing Brook and Gerry’s Big Win.