Thistledown: Ohio-bred mares renew rivalry in Dr. Classen

Gathering Dreams and Indian Ink, who finished one-two in this same race last year, will face last season’s 2-year-old Ohio-bred champion Startin Something in Saturday’s $50,000 Dr. T.F. Classen Memorial, the first stakes of the meet at Thistledown.

The six furlong race for accredited Ohio-bred fillies and mares drew a field of seven.

The 5-year-old Gathering Dreams is a multiple stakes winner with lifetime earnings of $178,645. She is making her first start since being awarded first place via disqualification in the 1 1/16-mile Bobby Bricker Handicap at Beulah Park on Nov. 27. This is the same pattern she followed last year leading into this race after winning the Bobby Bricker in 2009. Gathering Dreams has been working on a steady schedule for trainer Susan Waszak.

Indian Ink will also be making her first start of the season. She finished first in the Bobby Bricker but was disqualified and placed last. The 6-year-old Indian Ink has been consistent throughout her 27-race career with a record of 9-5-7 and earnings of $180,756. She has the speed to set the pace and if ready for a top effort could wire this field.

Startin Something, a winner of four consecutive stakes last season, was second in her first start this year facing 3-year-olds in the six-furlong Royal North Stakes at Beulah Park on April 2. She will be facing older horses for the first time.