Florida-bred Broken Dreams again proved her versatility when she won the Senator Ken Maddy Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita for the second consecutive year Saturday. The 6-year-old mare that is a homebred product of Leonard Lavin’s Glen Hill Farm in Ocala won the six and one-half furlong Maddy over the Arcadia, Ca., track’s downhill turf course while chasing down a quick front runner after two races back, winning the $93,000 Osunitas Stakes at Del Mar at 1 1/16 miles on the turf leading from start to finish.
Trained by Tom Proctor and ridden by Garrett Gomez, Broken Dreams was no match early for 3-1 second choice Kindle who broke on top from the outside and went the first two furlongs in a quarter horse-like time of :20.97 and opening up some two lengths on the field. Meanwhile Broken Dreams broke well but fourth and had to use her usual early speed to get up for second by the time the first quarter had been run.
Racing around the right hand turn and down the hill, Kindle began to extend her lead, going the first half-mile a bit slower in :42.53. But by the time they crossed over the main track and hit the top of the stretch, she had a full five lengths on Broken Dreams in second and Teroda in third. Down the stretch Kindle appeared to be putting more distance on her competitors with Broken Dreams seemingly running for the place spot; that is until Kindle hit the sixteenth pole. That’s when Kindle could no longer keep up her sprint while Broken Dreams and favorite Byrama began to make up ground and catch her at the wire in a final time of 1:11.81. Broken Dreams won by a half-length over Kindle who held off Byrama (GB) by a neck for second.
“I had some concerns [about Kindle’s big lead],” Gomez said after the race. “The simple fact is, coming to the dirt, instead of picking [Kindle] up, she actually moved away from me another length or so and I was like, oh man! I know my filly is going to stay going six and a-half [furlongs] and I know she’s going to keep coming. But by the time we hit inside the eighth pole, [Kindle] wasn’t coming back still. Finally she threw in the towel and folded up about the last 50 yards and I knew Broken Dreams was going to stay on well.
“Last year when she won this race, she looked like she was going to run fifth outside the sixteenth pole and she wound up winning by a length. So I have a lot of confidence in her. She’s just a blast to ride.”
By Broken Vow and out of the Storm Cat mare Our Dreamer, Broken Dreams also seems to have an affinity for the downhill turf course at Santa Anita where she now has her two victories in the Sen. Maddy to go along with two seconds, both in stakes. She was the runner-up in the Grade 3 Monrovia and in the $93,000 Clockers’ Corner Stakes last year, both times to winner Unzip Me.
Despite all that success over the unique course at Santa Anita, even trainer Tom Proctor had his doubts about Broken Dreams winning as they turned for home.
“I thought she was in a good spot until they crossed the dirt and [Kindle] kind of got away a little farther,” Proctor said. “Lucky she could run her down.
“She’s been a nice mare for three years, hasn’t given us any problem at all. We had some early issues when she was three and didn’t even think she might get to the races. But once she got to the races, she [has been] good.”
Broken Dreams now has a career bankroll of $377,682 and seven wins from 22 starts. As the third choice in the wagering, Broken Dreams paid $8.40 to win, $5.00 to place and $3.00 to show. Kindle paid $4.40 and $3.20 while Byrama (GB) paid $2.40.
Proctor said no plans were definite for Broken Dreams’ next start but that the Grade 2 Goldikova at one mile on the turf Nov. 4 at Santa Anita would be a possibility.
Photo by Benoit
