Dreamin back with Iowa-breds in Mamie Eisenhower Stakes

Dreamin got so good last summer at Prairie Meadows that she won the richest race of the meet for older female sprinters, the $122,000 Saylorville Stakes. Friday night, making her first Prairie Meadows appearance of the year, Dreamin figures to be favored to win the $60,000 Mamie Eisenhower Stakes for older Iowa-bred fillies and mares for the second year in a row.

The Mamie Eisenhower, carded as race 8 (post time 9:13 Central), drew eight entrants, among them the second- and third-place finishers behind Dreamin in the 2017 Mamie Eisenhower, Mywomanfromtokyo and Native Princess. The division’s new player is Theperfectvow, winner of the Iowa Breeders’ Oaks last summer, and set to start for the first time since August.

One considerable change for Dreamin since she swept to three straight wins last summer at Prairie, a streak that began with the Eisenhower and ended with the Saylorville: Federico Villafranco trained her then, but now Dreamin resides in trainer Mike Maker’s string at Keeneland and ships from Kentucky to race. Dreamin held her form through the end of her 2017 campaign, and though she faded to ninth after contesting the pace in a closer-dominated April 6 allowance race at Keeneland, Dreamin should appreciate returning to statebred-restricted competition and benefit from that comeback start.

Mywomanfromtokyo has been every bit as successful an Iowa-bred as Dreamin, but specializes in races around two turns and has dominated her division in Prairie Meadows route races. In the best of times she’d struggle to get home going six furlongs, and Mywomanfromtokyo was concerningly dull making her second start of the year April 29 in an Iowa-bred sprint allowance.

Meanwhile, Theperfectvow has been posting steady works since late March for her 4-year-old bow, but she took a few starts to hit her peak form last summer. Trainer Robertino Diodoro has been winning races in bunches this month at Canterbury Park, but at Prairie Meadows has just one victory from his first 16 starters.