Intrepid Daydream surges in stretch for Maryland Million Distaff score

LAUREL, Md. - Earlier Saturday afternoon, the furthest thing from Paul Fowler’s mind was being in the winner’s circle at Laurel Park following Intrepid Daydream's victory in the $100,000 Maryland Million Distaff for state-sired or -bred fillies and mares at seven furlongs.

“I was home on the couch watching races and [trainer Gary Capuano] texted me and [told me] we were going to be in,” Fowler said. “I had to rush around to get here. I didn’t even handicap the races.”

State-sired entrants are given first preference in Maryland Million races. While Fowler’s homebred Intrepid Daydream was bred in the state, her sire, Jess’s Dream, stood outside of Maryland.

Thus, Intrepid Daydream was listed as the first Also Eligible, and needed three horses to scratch to participate.

Capuano waited until the absolute 11th hour to make a final decision on declaring Intrepid Daydream, and his patience paid off when Malibu Moonshine joined Moonboots and Mama G’s Wish as scratched.

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The Distaff was a star-studded cast that included defending champion Fille d’Esprit, five-time stakes-winner Luna Belle, and multiple stakes-winner Malibu Beauty.

Response Time broke well and made the early lead while pressured from the outside by Malibu Beauty and Fille d’Esprit through splits of 23.47 and 46.67. Meanwhile, jockey Jevian Toledo kept favored Intrepid Daydream outside and in the clear.

Intrepid Daydream made a four-wide bid into the stretch and readily went by Response Time to score by three lengths in 1:24.62. Response Time held second and was 1 1/4 lengths better than third-place Luna Belle, who was returning from a 512-day layoff. Mavilus, Fille d’Esprit, Malibu Beauty, Quiet Imagination and Sweet Gracie completed the order of finish. Intrepid Daydream returned $4 to win.

A hulking 4-year-old filly, Intrepid Daydream has won her last three starts, including Pimlico’s restricted Shine Again on Sept. 16. Twelve days later, she dominated restricted allowance foes at Delaware. Overall, she has won half of her 12 races for lifetime earnings of $318,350.

“She’s really big,” Fowler said, “Her older sister, Intrepid Dream, she’s a monster. She weighs 1,400 lbs. I’d like to see [Intrepid Daydream] go long,” Fowler said.

*Ladies

Precious Avary ($8.60) made it 3 for 3 on turf after a gate-to-wire triumph in the $125,000 Ladies for fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles on turf.

Trained by Tim Shaw, Precious Avary jumped nicely from her inside post, and set leisurely fractions of 24.78, 50.58, and 1:14.37 seconds while uncontested on the lead and racing well off the rail.

Jockey Silvestre Gonzalez pushed the button turning into the stretch, and Precious Avary responded. The Divining Rod filly drifted outward, but held firm, completing the distance in 1:49.53 seconds.

Naval Empire rallied inside to finish three-quarters behind the winner in second. Golden Heart was another 3 1/2 lengths back in third.

Shaw trains an eight-horse string at Parx Racing, and earned his first career stakes victory when Precious Avary captured the Jersey Girl for New Jersey-breds at Monmouth on July 9.

"Silvestre said he was going to ask her out of the gate," Shaw said. "I told him if they give you the lead, just nurse it along."

Precious Avary can be a bit flighty - she races with cotton in her ears - and she seemed nervous on the long walk heading from the backstretch to the paddock.

"They held us up on the track for two or three minutes, and I could see the kidney sweat coming out of her," Shaw said. "It shook her a little bit, but that's her," Shaw said. "You just have to know how to manage it."

Shaw mentioned the Grade 3, $200,000 Pebbles for 3-year-old fillies traveling a mile at Aqueduct as a potential next spot.

"I don't know if that's one step too far," Shaw said. "That is a 3-year-old race, but that's Yankee Stadium. That's big."

*Lassie

First-time starter Miss Harriett ($126.60) ran like a seasoned veteran to down favored Sheilahs Warcloud by a neck in the $100,000 Lassie for 2-year-old fillies.

One of nine horses trained at Pimlico by Brandon McFarlane, Miss Harriett broke sharp from the gate under jockey Jean Briceno and settled outside and in second behind pacesetter Remember Me.

Miss Harriett poked a head in front at the quarter pole, and held the lead at the three-sixteenths. Sheilahs Warcloud had outside momentum, however, and placed a nose in front nearing the eighth pole.

To her credit, Miss Harriett battled back and gamely got the better of her more-experienced rival in 1:12.23 seconds.

“I was hoping she would dig in,” McFarlane said. “She never had pressure, never in her life. So, this was the first time I actually saw a jock get into her.”

A homebred daughter of Blofeld owned by David Baxter’s Narrow Leaf Farm, Miss Harriett is a half-sister to Keep Momma Happy, who won the 2012 Nursery for Baxter as a first-time starter. Miss Harriett is also a half-sister to Grade 3-placed dirt sprinter Hemp, and juvenile stakes-placed dirt sprinter In Arrears.

“I got a couple of works into her,” McFarlane said. “Every single one, she beat whoever she was with. But I didn’t know what she was with. She proved it today. I expected her to break good, but I got the gate card three days ago.”

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