Jess's Dream rallies from last to win debut

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Jess’s Dream did his champion parents, Curlin and Rachel Alexandra, proud Monday at Saratoga, winning his much-anticipated career debut in storybook fashion with a last-to-first rally that elicited a rousing cheer from the modest but extremely appreciative crowd on hand for the performance.

Jess’s Dream, a Stonestreet Stables homebred, broke slowly and dropped approximately 18 lengths off the pace after the opening quarter-mile of the nine-furlong maiden special weight event for 3-year-olds. He still lagged far behind as the field left the backstretch before unleashing a furious rally down the center of the course under jockey John Velazquez that carried him to a one-length decision over the more experienced Securitiz. He paid $8.50.

Jess’s Dream, whose debut had been delayed due to issues with allergies and pharyngitis, was greeted by a chorus of cheers from the crowd as he was led into the winner’s circle.

“I don’t think they’ve closed entries yet for the Travers,” quipped trainer Kiaran McLaughlin after the race. “It was just a great race. We didn’t know what to expect. We knew he was plenty fit because he’s been training for a year. He never had any physical issues, just the pharyngitis. We knew he’d come running, but I was a little worried down the backstretch. I didn’t think he could pass all of them. This was a fast maiden race, and I’m just glad Johnny [Velazquez] persevered and stayed after him. He rode him great.”

McLaughlin acknowledged there was a lot of pressure but said it was also a lot of fun to train a horse like Jess’s Dream.

“Obviously, there’s a lot of pressure because there are so many people watching this horse,” said McLaughlin. “But they [Stonestreet] are great people to train for, and we feel privileged to have a horse like this in our barn. It took a little pressure off us when Todd [Pletcher] won earlier with his little sister [Rachel’s Valentina]. It was also great to listen to the fans clapping. They really appreciate him.”

McLaughlin said he’d likely look for an entry-level allowance race at Belmont Park for Jess’s Dream’s next start.