Nothing Like You, Dreamfyre skip Santa Ynez but will resurface soon

Dreamfyre and Nothing Like You were two of the prominent nominees for Sunday’s Grade 3 Santa Ynez Stakes at Santa Anita. They were not among the five fillies entered, but could run in stakes as soon as February, their respective trainers said.

Nothing Like You has won three straight races, most recently the Grade 2 Starlet Stakes at Los Alamitos on Dec. 9. She was held out of the $100,000 Santa Ynez Stakes at seven furlongs in favor of longer races, trainer Bob Baffert said.

The Starlet was Nothing Like You’s first race at 1 1/16 miles and resulted in a win by 5 1/4 lengths. The next graded stakes around two turns at Santa Anita for 3-year-old fillies is the Grade 3 Las Virgenes Stakes, a $100,000 race run at a mile on Feb. 4.

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Dreamfyre, the winner of stakes in her first three starts, has not raced since she finished ninth of 14 in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita on Nov. 3, her only career loss.

Trainer O.J. Jauregui gave Dreamfyre a three-week rest later in November before she resumed training. Jauregui said earlier this week that Dreamfyre “needed more time” to be ready for her 3-year-old debut.

“I told the owner I thought we were rushing her,” Jauregui said.

Dreamfyre races for Danny Eplin.

Jauregui, based at Golden Gate Fields, said the $100,000 Sweet Life Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at about 6 1/2 furlongs on the hillside turf course on Feb. 11 at Santa Anita is a goal.

“I want to try her down the hill with her speed and see how it goes,” he said. “I’ll try to spread out the races if I can this year.”

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