Dream of Me slides up rail to capture Dr. Fager Stakes

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Dream of Me rallied along the rail in getting past the longshot frontrunner Mr. Kisses to win the $200,000 Dr. Fager Stakes, the co-feature on the rich Florida Sire Stakes program Saturday at Gulfstream Park.

Giving Anna Varsi just the fifth victory of her training career, Dream of Me returned $16.60, defeating eight other Florida-bred 2-year-olds. He finished the six-furlong distance in 1:12.11.

Mr. Kisses, a 35-1 surprise, led past the furlong pole, but jockey Eddie Nunez had the pace-tracking Dream of Me in a smooth rhythm along the rail, and they were along in time to win by 2 1/4 lengths. Brighton Lane was third, and Li’l Meatball, the 19-10 favorite, was fourth.

Dream of Me, a gray colt owned by Kathy Machesky, was coming off a July 26 maiden victory in his second career start. The son of High Cotton was bred by the McKathan Brothers.

“It means a lot to me and the team,” said Varsi. “We’ve got about four horses here [at Gulfstream] right now. We’ve got a couple more at the farm [in Ocala].”

The $2 exacta (6-3) paid $448.20, the $1 trifecta (6-3-1) returned $1,505.90, and the 10-cent superfecta (6-3-1-7) was worth $482.96.

The Dr. Fager and its filly counterpart, the $200,000 Desert Vixen, were the richest races on a 12-race card that featured seven stakes. The next Florida Sire Stakes installment comes Sept. 5.