Dream Awhile wins Eatontown; Harlan Punch wires Iselin

OCEANPORT, N.J. – Dream Awhile returned from an eight-week freshening in sharp form and scored her first graded stakes win in the $100,000 Eatontown at Monmouth Park on Saturday.

The Grade 3 Eatontown was Dream Awhile’s first race since she finished third in the Grade 2 Distaff Turf Mile at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby Day. She was unhurried early in Saturday's 1 1/16-mile turf race for fillies and mares as Gianna's Dream set a leisurely pace on an open lead.

Dream Awhile moved closer on the backstretch, then forged to the front outside Gianna’s Dream nearing the stretch. The daughter of War Front opened a clear lead, then held 10-1 Special Event safe by three-quarters of a length under jockey Irad Ortiz Jr.

“I just let her do her thing,” Ortiz said. “I had the best horse in the race, so even though they went slow early and tried to back it up, I was able to drop in and get her to relax. She really responded when I asked her.”

Elysea’s World, who rallied four wide into the stretch, finished willingly to be third, two lengths behind Special Event, who closed well. Dream Awhile and Elysea’s World are trained by Chad Brown.

Dream Awhile paid $3 in the five-horse field. She was timed in a good 1:41.59 following tepid fractions of 25.14 seconds, 49.73, and 1:12.62.

“With a horse loose on the lead like that, it was troublesome to me, especially since my filly didn’t get away too good from the gate,” Brown said. “I thought Irad used good judgment on the backside, knowing there was a slow pace and getting her involved when he did.”

The Eatontown was Dream Awhile’s second win from five starts since being imported from France. She won the Tropical Park Oaks at Gulfstream Park in December. She is owned by Joe Allen.

Iselin: Harlan Punch wires four-horse field

The Grade 3 Iselin fizzled rather than sizzled on a hot summer day when the field scratched down from seven to four.

Harlan Punch, the lone horse in the field with early speed, went right to the lead in the 1 1/16-mile race as Imperative stumbled at the start and bumped into Page McKenney. Jockey Joe Bravo played the situation perfectly aboard Harlan Punch, putting him on the lead and slowing down the pace. Page McKenney tried to apply some pressure to Harlan Punch on the backstretch but couldn’t really do much.

Harlan Punch set splits of 24.95, 48.82, and 1:12.53 en route to a 5 1/4-length win in 1:44.53. He paid $4.40 as a slight favorite over Page McKenney.

“I’m probably the biggest Page McKenney fan there is, but when you’ve got a horse that is lone speed, it’s hard to beat,” Bravo said.

Backsideofthemoon finished third, 1 1/2 lengths behind Page McKenney and 7 3/4 lengths in front of Imperative, who tired while making his first start in 14 months.

David Jacobson owns and trains Harlan Punch, a 5-year-old gelding by Harlan’s Holiday. Jacobson claimed Harlan Punch for $40,000 at Saratoga last August. He has won six races since then. The $100,000 Iselin is his second stakes win and his first graded score.

“When that horse gets to the lead, he’s tough,” Jacobson said. “He gets in front, and he gets his ears up, he relaxes, and he’s tough to beat.”

Although Page McKenney didn't win, he did earn 7 points in the Mid-Atlantic Championships long-dirt division. He now leads that division by 10 points. He also now is on top of his Mary Eppler-trained stablemate Oak Bluffs, 17-15 in the MATCH Series overall championship point standings.