Saratoga: Dreaming of Julia, Kauai Katie getting rest of year off

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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Earlier this year, Dreaming of Julia and Kauai Katie were considered by many to be the top 3-year-old fillies routing and sprinting, respectively, in the country.

After a couple of disappointing performances, both fillies have been put away for the remainder of the year and will be brought back as 4-year-olds, according to trainer Todd Pletcher. Both fillies are owned by Stonestreet Stables and recently were sent to Stonestreet Farm in Kentucky.

Dreaming of Julia, a Grade 1-winning 2-year-old filly, won the Grade 3 Gulfstream Park Oaks by 21 3/4 lengths in March. She finished fourth, with ample trouble, as the favorite in the Kentucky Oaks and was second as the 2-5 favorite in the Mother Goose. She worked twice subsequently with the hopes of making the Grade 1, $1 million Cotillion at Parx on Sept. 21, but the decision was made to stop on her.

Pletcher said that in retrospect, the Kentucky Oaks, in which Dreaming of Julia was squeezed at the start, proved a harder race on her than he first thought.

“We thought we had her back in good shape for the Mother Goose, but she didn’t fire the kind of race we expected,” Pletcher said. “It seemed like we were spinning our wheels a little bit, not getting exactly where we wanted to be. It’s a conservative move with a filly that’s perfectly sound and healthy. She had been in training for a long time. We felt giving her a break would ultimately pay off down the road.”

Kauai Katie showed an affinity for Gulfstream with powerful sprint victories in the Old Hat and Forward Gal. After winning an overnight stakes at Aqueduct, Kauai Katie finished third in the Grade 1 Acorn and last in the Grade 1 Prioress as the 2-5 favorite, a race in which she sprung a shoe.

“She loves Gulfstream,” Pletcher said. “They have a very good series for older fillies sprinting, and we’re going to focus on that.”