Bulletproof Enterprises' If I Can Dream won the 20th annual $160,000 Cleveland Classic at Northfield Park Saturday night in 1:52.1, defeating Sheer Desire (Dave Palone) by just over two lengths
. Vertical Horizon (David Miller), a stablemate of If I Can Dream, was third.
Sheer Desire took the early lead but If I Can Dream, the Breeders Crown champion, was driven to the front by Tim Tetrick as the field approached the :27.2 quarter mile mark. If I Can Dream controlled the fractions from there and a :27.2 final quarter sealed the deal for the three-year-old son of Western Hanover-Arterra, who was making the last start of his career. He returned $2.40 to win.
If I Can Dream finishes his racing career with 14 wins in 33 career starts and a bankroll of $2,038,153. Tracy Brainard is the winning trainer, becoming just the second female conditioner to win Northfield’s richest race.
(With files from Northfield Park)