Fun to Dream gives Baffert record Santa Monica win

ARCADIA, Calif. – Even when it looks like the chips are down, the filly Fun to Dream and trainer Bob Baffert find a way to keep winning.

A pacepresser with natural speed, Fun to Dream found herself in an unexpected position as the odds-on favorite Saturday at Santa Anita – positioned dead last in the Grade 2 Santa Monica Stakes for filly-mare sprinters. Baffert was worried, jockey Juan Hernandez was not.

“She was taking dirt, and (Hernandez) told me she wasn’t liking it at first,” Baffert said. “I thought, I hope he knows what he’s doing.”

Hernandez knew exactly what he was doing. “She was a little bit uncomfortable (early) because the kickback is really hard,” he said. “But she’s really professional, and she’s getting better.”

Fun to Dream tucked inside behind the speed, got comfortable after eating dirt early, split horses and angled out for the drive, and ran past Awake at Midnyte to win by 2 1/2 lengths. Fun to Dream ($3) won for the sixth time in seven starts, and gave Baffert his record seventh win in the Santa Monica, breaking a six-win tie with D. Wayne Lukas.

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“That’s what I love about this sport,” Baffert said. “Everything we go through, where there’s a dip, there’s a high. Yesterday was a dip, and today was a high.”

Baffert was referring to his court appearance Friday in Kentucky, where he is trying to overturn the Churchill Downs ban that currently prevents him from running at Churchill and disallows his 3-year-olds from earning Kentucky Derby qualifying points.

There were no Derby implications in the seven-furlong Santa Monica, just another victory for a gray filly by Arrogate who will stretch to two turns for her next start. Fun to Dream, who won the Grade 1 La Brea Stakes for 3-year-old sprint fillies on Dec. 26, will stretch out for the Grade 1 Beholder Mile on March 11.

“Now she’s ready to go two turns,” Baffert said. “She’s getting better and better, and it’s fun to be part owner in a horse like this.”

Baffert bred Fun to Dream with co-owner Connie Pageler; the filly’s owners are Pageler and Baffert’s wife, Jill. Fun to Dream, sired by Arrogate, has earned $546,590. Not bad for a filly whose dam ended her career finishing third in an $8,000 claiming race in 2012.

Fun to Dream had won the La Brea pressing the pace in the clear, but in the Santa Monica she was inside and behind the leaders. The early pacesetter was Anacapa. After an opening quarter in 22.81, she faded to last. Samurai Charm was the leader after a half-mile in 45.74; she tired to third. Awake at Midnyte got first run, opened up in the lane, but was no match. She finished 2 1/4 lengths in front of Samurai Charm. Lady T, Angel Nadeshiko and Anacapa completed the order of finish.

Fun to Dream completed the seven-furlong Santa Monica in 1:22.75.

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