Comeback winner Dreaming of Drew tries to double up in Whimsical Stakes

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Dreaming of Drew made quite a splash when she won her return from an extended layoff on opening day of the Woodbine meet, and she could avoid a bounce in Sunday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Whimsical Stakes.

Dreaming of Drew was among the top three 2-year-old fillies in Canada in 2020, but the attractive chestnut missed all of 2021 due to injury. She spent last winter at a training center in South Carolina and was a determined winner in her comeback in the 5 1/2-furlong Long Branch Stakes.

Trainer Barbara Minshall said she wasn’t surprised to see Dreaming of Drew win her April 16 return.

“She had a lot of time off in South Carolina and had a good foundation,” Minshall explained. “I just put the final touches to her and gave her a couple of speed works because she was going short.”

Minshall said Dreaming of Drew has retained her sharpness since the Long Branch and she isn’t overly concerned with running her back in 22 days.

“It’s not something you want to do consistently, but that other race was probably easier than it looked,” Minshall said. “She came back real good and worked good. She’s really on her toes.”

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Lorena and Boardroom are both starting for the first time this year in the six-furlong sprint.

Lorena was a tour de force in restricted 3-year-old filly stakes last year, winning five of seven starts and $281,600. She won going short and long on the Tapeta and found the mark in her only turf race.

Trainer Stuart Simon said the Whimsical is a launching point for Lorena.

“We’re going to see where this takes us,” Simon said. “I don’t know exactly what she wants to do or what she’s best at. She’ll definitely run further. It’s a starting point to see how she handles older, open company. Hopefully, she takes that step forward and can compete open. She’s very competitive. She took to the turf [last year] and went two-turning. She did what she had to do.”

Simon said Lorena wintered in Florida and has trained encouragingly this spring.

“She had a nice little holiday in Ocala,” Simon said. “She had two months out of training and started training there in the middle of January. She got ready there and came back here the third week of March. She’s doing well.”

Boardroom, a five-time winner in seven career outings, competed just twice in 2021 at 4. The closer won the Whimsical in June and took the Grade 3 Seaway with a 98 Beyer Speed Figure in August. She was scratched as the 3-5 morning line favorite from the Grade 3 Ontario Fashion on Oct. 3.

Rounding out the seven-horse field are Dirty Dangle, Our Secret Agent, Millennium Force, and Artie’s Princess, a supplement.