Dream Something proved to be something of a dream come true last season for trainer Miles Wollam and the rest of the trotting filly’s connections.
As a two-year-old, Dream Something won five of nine races and earned $207,698, with her victories including three preliminary divisions of the Ohio Sire Stakes series and a division of the Ohio Breeders Championship.
On Thursday, May 8, the daughter of Uncle Peter-Travelin Dream will begin her sophomore campaign in a conditioned race on opening night at Eldorado Scioto Downs. She will leave from post three in a field of 10 with driver Tyler Smith, who sat behind the filly in her last six starts of 2024.
Dream Something is one of three three-year-olds in the field, along with last year’s Ohio Sire Stakes champion Aunt Laura and Country Victory, who was a winner on the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes circuit last season. Both those fillies are also making their seasonal debuts.
“She trained back really well and qualified good,” said Wollam, referring to Dream Something’s third-place 1:59.3 clocking at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows on April 22. “I drove her myself and she finished right with a couple of nice Pennsylvania fillies [Blueberry and Payback Moni], so I was real pleased. We’re just taking our time because it’s a long year.”
Dream Something was purchased for $30,000 at the 2023 Ohio Selected Jug Sale. Her family’s third dam is U.S. Hall of Fame broodmare Intercontinental, the mother of U.S. Hall of Fame female trotter Continentalvictory. She is owned by Wollam and Julie Ann Sweet, whose late father, Dale Sweet, was part of the ownership group last year. Dale Sweet passed away in January after a long battle with Lewy body dementia.
“We’d had success with Uncle Peter fillies and she looked similar to the two I had prior to her,” Wollam said about selecting Dream Something. “That was really about it. And we were able to afford her. Thirty [thousand dollars] was our price limit. That was the money we had, and luckily, we got her.
“We were very fortunate, that’s for sure. Every start she was such a blessing. We never expected her to be as good as she was. She trained down nice, but we didn’t have too high expectations. It was quite a ride. Hopefully, we can continue it a little bit this year.”
After opening her career with a win in a two-year-old conditioned race at MGM Northfield Park, Dream Something finished fourth in a division of the Ohio Sire Stakes. She rebounded with a victory her next time out, also in a division of the OHSS, and then was second in a division of the Ohio State Fair Stakes.
Dream Something’s next start opened Wollam’s eyes when she rallied from seventh (more than seven lengths back) with a quarter-mile to go to capture a division of the OHSS by a neck over Aunt Laura in a lifetime-best 1:55.4 at Scioto Downs.
“She was four-wide in the last turn passing horses, and typically, your two-year-olds can’t pass horses going four-wide, no matter how fast they’re going,” said Wollam. “I thought she was a nice competitive filly and that night kind of surprised me.
“As the race was unfolding, you kind of get an idea past the half or going to the three-quarter pole whether you have a shot. I was thinking that hopefully we would get a cheque. When she started moving, it gave me goosebumps. It was exciting.”
Dream Something added her OBC win and another in the OHSS before finishing her season with an eighth-place finish from post seven in the OHSS Championship at Northfield.
“She was sick leading up to it, and we thought we had it under wraps, but she was no good,” said Wollam. “That was probably the only race all year that she actually raced bad. Hopefully, she’ll be a little bit healthier [this year]. We’ve been keeping track of her blood and so far, knock on wood, she’s been pretty healthy. She grew quite a bit, filled out nicely. I’m hoping for bigger, better things.
“She seems to have the ability. It’ll just be a matter of how fast the other fillies got. She’s a mild-mannered filly. Nothing really bothers her. I think that’s a big part of her success. Some fillies are high strung and can be a little tough in the race or tough on themselves during the week. This filly, she has no worries. That makes it so much easier. That’s what separates the good from the average horse. We’re just very blessed.”
Dream Something is 9-1 on the morning line in Thursday’s race at Scioto, where our-year-old Roxanna is the 7-2 favourite. Following her seasonal debut, Dream Something will be pointed toward the Ohio Sire Stakes, which begin May 16 at Scioto.
“She’s got the Sire Stakes, if she’s good enough,” said Wollam. “I think she is, but you never know. She will have five legs of the Sire Stakes, the State Fair at Scioto and then Delaware, and hopefully the [OHSS] final. If she’s good enough, there is enough money in Ohio; more than sufficient.
“She owes us nothing. You always have your expectations, but whatever she does, I know that she will give everything she’s got.”
Racing begins at 5:52 p.m. at Scioto Downs.
(USTA)