Dream of Jeanne looks to build on promising debut

ARCADIA, Calif. – A maiden second-time starter could bring lasting significance to the Friday card at Santa Anita, or maybe the weekday program is mostly an illustration of the fleeting appeal of handicapping and gambling.

Dream of Jeanne straddles both – potential relevance and parimutuel reward. She makes her second start Friday in a maiden dirt route, following a fourth-place debut that validated the belief by trainer John Shirreffs and owner Jerry Moss that the 3-year-old filly is a top prospect.

“We were really happy with her first race,” Shirreffs said. “That race helped her a lot. Going a mile first time out on a deep dirt track, I thought she ran really well.”

Handicappers share the trainer’s opinion of Dream of Jeanne’s debut in a mile dirt race on Sept. 2 at Del Mar. Rated by jockey Victor Espinoza, she took dirt, split rivals on the backstretch, unleashed a rail rally on the far turn, and split the field. Promising debut.

Dream of Jeanne is named for Jeanne Mayberry, the Florida horsewoman who, with her daughter April Mayberry, broke and trained Zenyatta in Florida before she arrived in California and became a superstar for Shirreffs and Moss.

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To win the fourth race Friday, a mile race for maiden fillies and mares, Dream of Jeanne must turn the tables on a pair who finished in front of her. Those include Park Avenue, the likely pacesetter who finished second in both recent starts for John Sadler. Shirreffs also starts Angel of Freedom, whose five starts include four third-place finishes.

Beyond likely natural second-start improvement, Dream of Jeanne may benefit from the addition of blinkers.

“She was looking around a little bit,” Shirreffs explained. “We thought [blinkers] would give her a little more focus for this race.”

Espinoza rides Dream of Jeanne, who is by American Pharoah.

Park Avenue could start favored based on back-to-back runner-up finishes in mile dirt races at Del Mar. Flavien Prat rides Park Avenue, the likely pacesetter. If the race falls apart, Shirreffs trainee Angel of Freedom could upset.

Ricky Gonzalez rides Angel of Freedom, whose five starts have produced four third-place finishes.

“She always makes an effort, she’s always right there,” Shirreffs said.

Two others are eight-start maiden Assignation, and sprint stretch-out Lil Town Sis.

Other potential winners on Friday’s nine-race card include Grit and Curiosity in race 1. The $40,000 claiming gelding runs 6 1/2 furlongs on turf in his first since being claimed by Jeff Mullins, who won with five of his last 12 first-off-the-claim runners.

The most probable winner Friday might be Doug O’Neill-trained Harbor Sky in race 7. The last-out maiden-claiming winner runs a mile on dirt in the $16,000 claiming race, restricted to nonwinners of two.

In race 8, trainer Peter Miller and jockey Flavien Prat tune up for next week’s Breeders’ Cup Mile tilt with Mo Forza by teaming with veteran Fly to Mars in a starter allowance at a mile on turf.