Dream On to run on turf or dirt in Jersey Derby

The $100,000 Jersey Derby at Monmouth Park on Saturday may be one of many turf stakes impacted by rainfall in the Northeast this weekend. Trainer Mark Casse and 3-year-old colt Dream On remain undaunted.

Coming off a fifth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf last year, Dream On returned in January and has since won two of three starts. The Jersey Derby will be his fifth race at a mile.

“Honestly, when we went to the Breeders’ Cup, I thought he was one of our best chances,” Casse said. “He ran well in the Breeders’ Cup, they just caught him late.”

After a dull outing at Tampa Bay Downs in the $100,000 Columbia in March, a fifth-place finish Casse still can’t explain, the colt shipped to Aqueduct and won the $125,000 Woodhaven with an impressive stalking trip. Casse described him as an aggressive runner when he’s at his best.

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Though Dream On has made seven of his eight career starts on turf, Casse said that he would probably keep him in if the race is taken off the turf. Dream On’s owner, D. J. Stable LLC, is based just outside Monmouth, so his New Jersey debut will be well attended regardless.

“He trains really well on the dirt and I do want to try him on it again,” Casse said.

Casse would be bold to put his turf star on the dirt, as several in the field would be more obvious candidates to benefit from the surface change. Cool Intentions, a 3-year-old colt trained by Jorge Delgado, is waiting in the wings as a main-track-only entrant, while Barbadian Runner, a two-time stakes winner on dirt, could easily switch back for trainer Henry Walters. He is the only horse in the race who has run on a wet dirt track.

Walters originally pointed Barbadian Runner toward the Grade 3 Penn Mile at Penn National this week, but he had to double back to his second option after that race was postponed.

“I’ve never heard of them canceling part of a card and then bringing it back in three weeks,” Walters said. “Well, people’s plans change.”

Barbadian Runner made the second turf start of his career in the $100,000 James W. Murphy at Pimlico Race Course earlier this month, finishing fourth. He didn’t deliver a winning performance to match victories on dirt at Laurel Park in the winter, but he belonged in the field as an outsider and should serve a similar purpose on the grass here.

Todd Pletcher, Chad Brown, and Danny Gargan all entered colts coming off maiden victories at a mile on turf. Gargan will scratch Landman Friday and wait for opportunities at Saratoga. The remaining precocious runners are unproven against winners and it’s uncertain if they will run on dirt or softer turf if given the opportunity.

Candytown, trainer by Pletcher, finished second by less than a length in his first two starts this year before finally breaking through at Gulfstream after a short layoff. Uncatalyzed, trained by Brown, shipped up to Aqueduct for his second start and capably won in gate-to-wire fashion.

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