Laurie Ross
Iron Maidens

The JJ’s Dream Stakes was first run in 1976 as the Melaleuca Stakes and it was renamed in 2000 after the multiple stakes winner and local favorite, J J’s Dream. Two winners, Princess Rooney and Hollywood Wildcat, continued on to Championships. Last year’s winner Dashing Debbie was just a tic off the six furlong stakes record while blazing to a ten length victory.  The tenacious Joanie’s Catch was third.

This year, the race was shortened to 5½ furlongs.  Nine well-bred fillies are scheduled to enter the starting gate. Remarkably, all but one filly is coming in off of a winning debut. The lone maiden finished second by an unlucky head.

Anyone of these fillies could step up and win, or on the other hand, take a step backwards.  Works and pedigree are the keys to this race.

Devilish Lady owns progressively faster works since her outing, but her fractions were slow in a maiden claimer.  She’ll have to go from the one post, and may not have enough speed to outsprint them. She is inbred to the blue hen Ballade and she is a half sister to a stakes placed runner out of a stakes winning dam.

Greatest Dream won from the rail in her debut, but has the slowest time for four furlongs in here. Her works are good, but her immediate family is modest.

Because I Like It had a strong finish in her debut, the added distance should be a big plus for her. She is out of a stakes winning half sister to Champion Older Male Left Bank.

Awesome Feather owns two bullet works plus a last out six furlong breeze, so she’ll be plenty fit. She has a strong distaff family and will be the likely favorite. Her dam was a multiple stakes winner descended from a family of European stakes winners.

Delightful Dawn, closed into strong factions over a speed favoring track to get second by a head at this distance last out. She shows a live work pattern and the barn has an 18 percent win rate with non-graded stakes, the highest of any trainer in the field. Her dam is a stakes winning full sister to Dansetta Light, also a stakes winner, and a half sister to the durable grade one sprinter Captain Squire.

Cool Vixen won a maiden claiming from off the pace on an off track. She could have an advantage if there is rain, which is always a good possibility in Florida in the summer. Her works aren’t promising and her family is modest.

Blue Eyed Sweetie sat behind the pace then got up to win in a head, so the extra furlong in this race can help. Her works are average but they quicken for her last breeze. She’s a half-sister to a stakes placed turf runner.

Pretty Extravagant won by over five lengths and is the only horse in the field to have defeated a next out winner.  Her works are consistently fast. She is by With Distinction, a freshman sire with five winners from 11 starters. Pretty Extravagant hails from the female family of Sprint Champion Caller One.

Snow Trial barely held on for the win at this distance two weeks ago. The barn is 40 percent with the maiden to stakes win angle, but this filly may be set up to regress off of her hard first effort. The pretty gray filly is a half sister to a stakes winner.

Awesome Feather
Pretty Extravagant
Because I Like It
Delightful Dawn – longshot play