Oaklawn Park: Dreaming of Julia, Teen Pauline on fence for Apple Blossom

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Stonestreet Stables and trainer Todd Pletcher are debating whether to start Dreaming of Julia or Teen Pauline in the Grade 1, $600,000 Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn on April 11. Pletcher said Wednesday that upcoming works would be a big part of the decision process. There is a chance Pletcher could pass the race with both fillies.

For the Grade 1-winning Dreaming of Julia, a start in the Apple Blossom would be her first race of the year. In her most recent out she was second to the race’s probable favorite, Close Hatches, in the Grade 1 Mother Goose at Belmont Park on June 22.

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“With Dreaming of Julia, it’s just going to be a matter of whether shipping cross country off the long layoff is the right move for her or not,” Pletcher said. “We’ll see how her next work goes.”

Pletcher said Dreaming of Julia was given some time off at Stonestreet Farm and “looks sensational.”

Last year, her most memorable effort was a 21-length victory in the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks. She earned a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 114.

Teen Pauline has won her last three starts by a combined margin of 18 lengths, topped by the Grade 2 Top Flight at Aqueduct on March 1.

Entries for the Apple Blossom, a 1 1/16-mile race for fillies and mares, will be taken on Tuesday.