Dream Supreme draws high-class lineup

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Winter is about to settle in, but there’s a sizzler Saturday at Churchill Downs. Apropos of being the richest race on the continent this weekend, the $300,000 Dream Supreme drew a terrific lineup.

A renewal of the rivalry between Bell’s the One and Sconsin is the main storyline in the Dream Supreme, a six-furlong race that should be hotly contested from the opening bell. The exceptionally quick Elle Z is among a field of seven fillies and mares, and even if she doesn’t actually start, Vintage Ready and Frank’s Rockette both own enough early foot to establish a quick pace.

The Dream Supreme will be run under the Churchill lights as the 10th of 11 races, all of them being run on the main track because of the unavailability of the turf course. First post is 1 p.m. Eastern, with the feature set for 5:36. A nighttime low of 32 is in the forecast, with the daytime high being 46.

“Hopefully the field holds together the way it’s drawn,” said Neil Pessin, trainer of the stretch-running Bell’s the One. “The mare is doing super good. I’m expecting her to run another big race.”

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Bell’s the One, a 5-year-old daughter of Majesticperfection, will have Corey Lanerie aboard from post 6. Both she and Sconsin were viable candidates for the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint run last Saturday at Del Mar, as was another Dream Supreme starter, Club Car, but for a variety of reasons, all of them stayed home for this race instead.

Bell’s the One has earned a field-high $1,336,825 for owner Bob Lothenbach while winning 10 of 21 starts, her latest being a last-to-first score in the Grade 2 Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes five weeks ago at Keeneland. In a little more than a year, she has squared off five times against Sconsin, with Bell’s the One faring better in three of those.

Lanerie, a 19-time meet leader at Churchill, missed the last three days of action here serving out a suspension stemming from a riding infraction last Saturday.

Sconsin (post 4, Tyler Gaffalione), a Lloyd Madison Farms homebred with the same kind of closing kick as Bell’s the One, has gone unraced by trainer Greg Foley since defeating her nemesis by a half-length in the Sept. 18 Open Mind at Churchill. The 4-year-old Include filly shows two interim works, ending with a half-mile breeze in 49.60 seconds Nov. 4.

Club Car (post 5, Joel Rosario), based at Keeneland with trainer Ben Colebrook, closed sharply when beaten just a neck by Bell’s the One as the TCA runner-up in an effort that typifies her consistency. From 22 career starts, the Malibu Moon mare has finished third or better 18 times while knocking out nearly $500,000.

Frank’s Rockette (post 7, Florent Geroux) was a standout last year at 3 for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, but her Beyer Speed Figures and overall prowess have lagged this year in comparison. She was fifth of six in the TCA without an apparent excuse and will simply need to do better to make an impact here.

Elle Z (post 2, Mitchell Murrill) has been scratched twice from recent races because of unfavorable conditions, and trainer Chris Hartman said a third straight scratch is not outside the realm of possibility. The 4-year-old daughter of City Zip is a speed demon of the first order.

“It’s an awfully tough race,” Hartman said early Thursday. “The filly’s doing great and we’d like to run, but whether we do is still to be determined.”

Through the first seven of 21 days at this fall meet, Hartman was tied for leading trainer with six wins, while Murrill led all jockeys with 12 wins.

Blinkers and Vintage Ready round out the Dream Supreme cast as outsiders

The Dream Supreme is named for the multiple Grade 1 winner who won nine of 16 starts and more than $1 million from 1999-2001 for Mott and her owner-breeder, the Kinsman Stable of the late George Steinbrenner

Rushie tries to end skid

A $148,000, one-mile allowance that drew Rushie and Title Ready among just five older horses goes as the third race Saturday. Rushie will be adding blinkers seeking his first win since he captured the Grade 2 Pat Day Mile on the 2020 Kentucky Derby undercard, while Title Ready makes his first start since finishing far back in the Dubai World Cup in late March.

Two other allowances (races 7 and 9) and three maiden-specials (races 5, 8, 11) also are on tap.