Fresno: Skydreamin returns north for Charlie Palmer Futurity

Northern California’s top three 2-year-old males will have six challengers Saturday when the $50,000-added Charlie Palmer Futurity is run at one mile at the Big Fresno Fair.

Each of the “Big Three” sports a 2-for-2 record in Northern California.

Skydreamin won the Lost in the Fog at Golden Gate Fields in his debut and then the Everett Nevin at Pleasanton before heading for Southern California. Hirschy won a maiden race at Santa Rosa and then came back to win the Cavonnier Juvenile there before he, too, went south. Life Is a Joy, a stablemate of Hirschy, is undefeated after two starts, both at Golden Gate Fields.

Skydreamin raced very greenly in his debut and then dominated rivals in his second start. But things weren’t so easy for him at Del Mar, where he ran last in both the Grade 2 Best Pal and Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity.

“He didn’t seem to care for the synthetic surface,” said trainer Jeff Bonde, who added the Sky Mesa colt didn’t seem to try his hardest on the Del Mar Polytrack. “His works have improved since moving to Santa Anita.”

Saturday’s one-mile distance marks the route debut of all nine runners in the Charlie Palmer. Bonde is not concerned about Skydreamin handling the distance.

“It’s a natural progression,” he said.

Hirschy and Life Is a Joy are both trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, who also bred Life Is a Joy along with his wife, Janet, and George Todaro.

Hirschy rallied nicely in each of his wins at Santa Rosa, but he managed only an eighth in the $100,000 Barretts Juvenile at the Los Angeles County Fair in his last start.

“He got bumped early,” Hollendorfer said of Hirschy, a son of millionaire Papa Clem.

Hollendorfer expects Hirschy, who drew the rail, to come from off the pace. He will have Russell Baze back in the saddle.

Life Is a Joy is a full brother to the stakes-placed Life Is a Rock and Life Is a Stone.

“He’s certainly done nothing wrong yet, but we want to take it one step at a time,” Hollendorfer said.

Brighton Star won a $40,000 maiden claimer at Del Mar and is coming off a third-place finish in the Afflerbaugh at the Los Angeles County Fair. Tizouttasight has two wins, and Go First has been first under the wire in his last two starts but was disqualified the first time. El Sacrificio won his only start but at the bottom $12,500 maiden-claiming level.

Mondai Mondai and the maiden Devil Cat round out the field.