Belmont Park: Dreaming of Julia romps by 16 1/4 lengths in Meadow Star Stakes

Tom Keyser

Dreaming of Julia wins Sunday’s $80,000 Meadow Star Stakes at Belmont Park by 16 1/4 lengths.

ELMONT, N.Y. – A year after campaigning the undefeated 2-year-old filly champion My Miss Aurelia, Stonestreet Stable is back with another seemingly extraordinarily talented juvenile filly in Dreaming of Julia.

Confirming her 10 1/2-length debut victory Aug. 6 at Saratoga was no fluke, Dreaming of Julia waltzed to a 16 1/4-length score in Sunday’s $80,000 Meadow Star Stakes at Belmont Park, setting her up for a fall campaign that will most likely include starts in the Grade 1 Frizette at Belmont on Oct. 6 and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita on Nov. 2.

“Super impressed,” said Barbara Banke, the head of Stonestreet Stable who named the filly after her daughter. “I think she’s really a good filly, so we’re going to have lots of fun with her.”

After breaking a step slow under John Velazquez, Dreaming of Julia dueled inside of Fully Living through a quarter-mile in 23.02 seconds. Galloping along at an easy beat, Dreaming of Julia had a half-length lead after a half-mile in 46.23 and a four-length lead after six furlongs in 1:11.06. Velazquez basically gave her a hand ride through the stretch, and Dreaming of Julia, a product of Grade 1 winners A.P. Indy and Dream Rush, covered the mile in 1:36.46. She returned $2.60 as the overwhelming favorite.

“She broke a little slow, got into a rhythm right away, and I just kind of held her together and let her run to the quarter pole,” Velazquez said. “I made sure she did something, she does not seem like she does enough. I hope that when I ask her, she’s there for me because right now she does not seem like she does enough, she just goes through the motions like nothing’s happening.”

Fully Living finished second followed by Over the Counter, Amethyst, and Colorful Image.

Dreaming of Julia is trained by Todd Pletcher, who was at Keeneland for the upcoming yearling sales. Banke said one reason she gave Pletcher Dreaming of Julia was due to his success with Rags to Riches, another daughter of A.P. Indy who defeated Stonestreet’s two-time Horse of the Year Curlin in the 2007 Belmont Stakes.

“When we brought her to Todd, we said ‘Todd you’ve had good luck with an A.P. Indy filly at a long distance before,’ ” Banke said. “I don’t think distance is an issue for her, she can go a long distance.”

Banke did report that Teen Pauline, who set a Saratoga track record for five furlongs winning her debut in July, came out of last Sunday’s Grade 1 Spinaway sore and would be given some time off. She will not make any of the major fall races, Banke said.

“She’ll be back – stronger,” said Banke, who noted that Teen Pauline is at Stonestreet Farm in Lexington, Ky. “She’s probably more of a sprinter. There are lots of good sprint races for her.”