One Dreamer proves hard to resist

FRANKLIN, Ky. – With a $150,000 purse being offered to horses lacking a 2015 stakes victory, no fewer than 25 fillies and mares were entered to run Thursday in the inaugural One Dreamer Stakes at Kentucky Downs.

The result is two divisions of full fields going a mile and 70 yards, with each division still worth the original $150,000. They’re carded as the eighth and ninth of 10 Thursday races at this rural turf-only track in south-central Kentucky.

Each division is well balanced with a lukewarm morning-line favorite and a wealth of viable contenders. With the Monday closing of the Del Mar and Saratoga meets, a number of well-known horsemen from opposite coasts will be participating, including jockeys Jose Lezcano, Kent Desormeaux, and Drayden Van Dyke, and trainers Doug O’Neill, Neil Drysdale, and Graham Motion.

The One Dreamer is named for the gray Glen Hill Farm mare who won the 1993 Rachel Jackson Stakes when this track was still known as Dueling Grounds. A little more than a year later, One Dreamer upset the 1994 Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Churchill Downs at 47-1.

First post is 1:35 p.m. Central, with the One Dreamer divisions going at 5 and 5:32. Three maiden races and two allowances also are on tap for another rich day of racing.

Purses for Kentucky Downs races other than claiming or starter races include bonuses of at least 50 percent restricted to horses eligible to the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund. Those bonuses are funded primarily from the historical racing machines in use here since 2011.

After weeks of dry, hot weather, a cool front accompanied by welcome rain is in the forecast for this region for midweek.

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Race 8 KEY CONTENDERS

Rusty Slipper (Last 3 Beyers: 79-84-82)

◗ Winner of the Grade 3 Violet at Monmouth Park a little more than a year ago for Motion, this 5-year-old mare has finished seventh in her last three starts while facing a slightly better brand.

◗ She will have Alex Cintron in from Delaware Park to ride from post 3.

A Little Bit Sassy (Last 3 Beyers: 86-81-82)

◗ Trained by Michael Matz of Barbaro fame, this 4-year-old filly ran third behind Recepta in the restricted De La Rose at Saratoga in her last start.

◗ She will be ridden back by Rafael Hernandez from post 11.

Race 9

KEY CONTENDERSKitten’s Dumplings

(Last 3 Beyers: 88-81-75)

◗ Winner of the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup nearly two years ago at Keeneland, this Ken and Sarah Ramsey homebred has been sparingly raced in the interim and is still seeking her first victory since then.

◗ She gets Julien Leparoux back aboard and leaves from post 6.

Annulment (Last 3 Beyers: 93-85-86)

◗ Her owner-breeder, G. Watts Humphrey Jr., and trainer, Vicki Oliver (Humphrey’s daughter), sure are riding high after winning the Grade 1 Yellow Ribbon on Sunday at Del Mar with She’s Not Here.

◗ This filly enters off a lifetime-best Beyer Speed Figure at Mountaineer Park last out.