Epic Dreamer goes for Derby points in Springboard Mile

Epic Dreamer will get his first chance at some Kentucky Derby points in the $400,000 Springboard Mile for 2-year-olds at Remington Park on Dec. 16. The first four finishers earn Kentucky Derby eligibility points on a scale of 10-4-2-1.

Epic Dreamer was a maiden special weight winner at Belmont Park in his last start Oct. 26. He has since been working at the Palm Meadows training center in South Florida and on Tuesday was to fly from West Palm Beach to Oklahoma City.

“We want to let the horse get in there early, get accommodated, acclimated,” trainer Kelly Breen said Monday.

Epic Dreamer has raced twice. He debuted in a maiden special weight sprint Sept. 23 at Belmont and finished second to Vekoma, who returned to win the Grade 3 Nashua at Aqueduct. Epic Dreamer, meanwhile, stretched out to 1 1/16 miles and was an odds-on winner, earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 81. Javier Castellano was aboard and Breen said he has the mount in the Springboard Mile.

“We were looking for a good spot to finish out the year, then look to some of the big dances in Florida,” Breen said.

The ship to Remington will be a first for Breen, an East Coast-based trainer who has regularly come into this region for stakes at Delta Downs in Vinton, La. Breen also shipped to Fair Grounds in New Orleans in 2011, winning the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby with Pants On Fire.

“I will travel,” he said. “This is a rarity, going to a new track. I’m excited to go to a new place.”

Breen has won five stakes at Delta, including a trio for 2-year-olds. Those wins include the $200,000 Jean Lafitte twice, with Bern Identity in 2012 and My Adonis in 2011.

Epic Dreamer is a son of Kentucky Derby winner Orb and a half-brother to stakes winners Southern Freedom and Reconstruction. He races for Epic Racing.

The Springboard Mile is North America’s final Kentucky Derby points race of 2018. Other potential starters including Mind Control, winner of the Grade 1 Hopeful in September at Saratoga, and Long Range Toddy and Tobacco Road, who ran one-three in the local prep, the $100,000 Clever Trevor.