Dreaming of Drew stretches out while trying to earn Breeders' Cup berth in Natalma

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Dreaming of Drew will meet Lady Speightspeare and five other promising 2-year-old fillies in Sunday’s Grade 1, $250,000 Natalma, a Breeders’ Cup Win and You’re in event at Woodbine for the Juvenile Fillies Turf.

Dreaming of Drew graduated second time out in a 5 1/2-furlong maiden special on the Tapeta by six lengths, with an 81 Beyer Speed Figure. When switching to the main turf for the 6 1/2-furlong Catch a Glimpse Stakes on Aug. 23, she came from fourth to take the lead with a sixteenth left before getting caught on the wire by the shipper Alda.

Trainer Barbara Minshall is quite high on Dreaming of Drew, who ran down two stablemates during a five-furlong breeze in 1:01.80 around the cones on the main turf Sept. 12.

“She’s just a really good filly, and she worked really good out there the other day,” Minshall said. “There was no rail, and she was dead straight. Justin Stein was on her for the first time. He said he was just sitting on her, and she just took off in front of those horses. He was pretty happy.”

Minshall said she has no qualms with extending Dreaming of Drew out to a one-turn turf mile in the Natalma.

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“I think she definitely would handle it, and maybe longer down the road, because she rates quite well,” Minshall explained. “She’s got a big turn of foot, so I don’t think the mile distance will be an issue. She obviously handles that turf well. Let’s hope for some racing luck.”

Lady Speightspeare was a powerful gate-to-wire winner in her seven-furlong debut on the main turf Aug. 22, a race from which the fifth-place finisher exited to win a one-mile maiden special easily.

Lady Speightspeare sizzled five-eighths in a bullet 58.60 seconds on the turf training course last Sunday for trainer Roger Attfield. Emma-Jayne Wilson will ride the close relative to Woodbine’s top 3-year-old, Shirl’s Speight.

Alda came from Maryland to win her stakes debut from off the pace in the Catch a Glimpse, earning a 79 Beyer under Steven Bahen. The daughter of Munnings has since worked a bullet five-eighths on the Tapeta at Fair Hill for trainer Graham Motion.

Seasons, an impeccably bred daughter of Tapit, won her lone start despite running greenly in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special on the grass at Saratoga. She’s trained by Jimmy Toner, who also conditioned her dam, the Grade 1-winning millionaire Winter Memories.

After exhibiting early foot, Stunning Princess finished second in both of her outings around two turns on the Saratoga sod. Trainer Danny Gargan is putting her on Lasix.

Sleek Lynx finished second in her only start at Gulfstream for trainer Mark Casse, who’s won the Natalma seven times. The daughter of War Front is out of Canadian International winner Sarah Lynx.