True North: Woke Up Dreamin scores

When the name Holy Bull came up during Belmont Week it was in connection with one of his sons, this year's Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo, who was running in the Belmont Stakes. But another son of Holy Bull, Woke Up Dreamin, generated buzz earlier Saturday, winning the Grade 2 .

Ridden by Mike Smith, Giacomo's pilot and the rider of Holy Bull, Woke Up Dreamin was a two-length winner over longshot Voodoo. It was another three-quarters of a length back to Mass Media in third in the $212,900 True North. Smokume, the 5-2 favorite who pressed the winner for the early lead, finished fourth.

Willy o'the Valley, Aggadan, Vicarage, With Distinction, Key Deputy, and Sing Me Back Home completed the order of finish.

Taking advantage of a speed-favoring track, Smith hustled Woke Up Dreamin to the lead as instructed by trainer Bob Baffert, who relayed instructions to his East Coast assistant, Tonja Terranova.

Woke Up Dreamin set the pace through sizzling fractions of 21.97 seconds, 44.43, and 56.10.

"[Baffert] said getting him out of the gate had been a problem for him," said Smith, who was aboard Woke Up Dreamin for the first time since riding him in a maiden race in 2002. "He's a big, heavy-set colt, but I got him out and he settled and went really well."

Woke Up Dreamin ($13.80) covered the six-furlong distance in a swift 1:08.38 over a fast track.

Woke Up Dreamin shipped to New York from California on Wednesday on the same plane that brought Giacomo to Belmont.

Terranova said she didn't know Baffert's plans for Woke Up Dreamin, who is owned by Mike Pegram.

Woke Up Dreamin, a 5-year-old, ran in claiming races earlier in his career. The True North is his first win in a stakes.