Company's Dream brings speed to softer spot
Company’s Dream will return to the allowance ranks in Sunday’s featured race over six furlongs for non-winners of two or non-winners of three Washington-breds at Emerald Downs. The son of Jersey Town, trained by Vince Gibson, is blessed with good early speed and has found a race without much other pace expected.
The 3-year-old gelding last raced in the Auburn Stakes on June 18, forcing a fast pace behind Clovisconnection and Lloyds Logic before finishing third, 10 lengths behind that pair. The top two returned to finish in the same order in the Irish Day Stakes on July 16.
In both starts prior to the Auburn Stakes, Company’s Dream broke from the inside post and led at every call, winning a maiden race on Feb. 28 at Turf Paradise and then taking an allowance event on May 14 at Emerald.
Company’s Dream finds himself starting from the outside in a small field on Sunday in a race in which the only serious pace competition could come from rail-drawn Poverty Bay.
Poverty Bay, a 4-year-old gelding by Coast Guard trained by Joe Toye, is still in search of his first Emerald Downs win. He has five runner-up finishes and a third-place from seven career chances at Emerald.
Each of the pace players can run hooked and can effectively stalk. The outside draw may give the edge to Company’s Dream. Both Poverty Bay and Company’s Dream have posted 68 Beyer Speed Figures at the current meet.
A hot pace could set things up for Naval Escort, a potent closer trained by David Martinez. The 5-year-old gelded son of Coast Guard is just 2 for 20 in his career, but earned a 74 Beyer in his last race, a fifth in a first-level allowance at 6 1/2 furlongs.
A trio of last-out maiden winners are in the lineup – Mangia Pane, trained by Faustino Patino; Wirewyre, trained by Frank Lucarelli; and Vorpal, trained by Tom Wenzel.
Wirewyre has been working impressively in steady fashion over the past two months and will be making his first start in just more than a year. The 3-year-old gelding by Harbor the Gold won going away in his debut last year and hasn’t started since.
Mangia Pane was a winner going a mile when stretching out and dropping in class from maiden special to $25,000 maiden claiming.
Vorpal lost three lengths at the start before rallying to be fourth in his June 11 debut and then was a narrow winner versus maidens on July 2 after another slow beginning.
Rounding out the field is 4-year-old Firewalker, who has earned a number of minor checks at the current stand but hasn’t won since last August. Firewalker has enough speed to make a first run on the pacesetters but will need to improve to win.
First post is 2 p.m. Pacific.
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