Brigham Dream delivered on her 6-5 promise when she captured Friday's $42,572 Breeders Crown Open Mares Trot Elimination at Mohawk Racetrack for driver Luc Ouellette in 1:54.
Starting from Post 3, Ouellette settled the four-year-old Kaisy Dream mare into third and watched as Freeze Frame (Jody Jamieson) and Susies Magic (Dave Miller) got away one-two at the :27.3 first split.
Susies Magic was eager in the two-hole and moved to the front at the :57.2 half, and an alert Ouellette followed that move. When Freeze Frame began to gap on the inside, Brigham Dream was able to slip into the pocket and braven up around the final turn.
Brigham Dream - Aged Mare Trot Elim
Susies Magic rolled to the three-quarters in 1:25.4, but had Brigham Dream moving to the outside and starting to close in. Ouellette guided Brigham Dream past Susies Magic and had the whip tucked away early to score by a length and three quarters.
"Mr. Dubois is in Kentucky right now, he has some affairs to take care of and he asked me if I'd drive her tonight. I'm not sure if he'll need my services next week, but it was certainly a pleasure to sit behind her tonight," said Ouellette. "We all know what this mare can do, she's a big strong mare but it seems at times she can be pretty difficult to drive. Mr. Dubois has done a great job with her. At times I've seen her run for a step or two and he'll get her back trotting. Needless to say, I drove her like I was holding eggs on my lap.
"I believe it was real good mentally for her because when I pulled her off a helmet again she went out of there like she was leaving the gate. I think mentally it did her a lot of good and she came to the wire well within herself. Goodness willing she'll be good next week. I don't think I even picked my whip up, I just showed it to her. She was just a trotting machine."
Bruschette (Ron Pierce) made a strong rally along the rail to get second while Vulcanize (Steve Condren) finished third.
The connections of Brigham Dream won the right to pick their post position for next Saturday's $266,075 BC Mares Open Trot final. The top eight finishers will join Trond Smedshammer trainees Falls For You and Godiva Hall, who earned byes into the final.
Brigham Dream ($4.60) is trained by Nicolas Vandenplas for owner Reve Avec Moi Dreamwithme. The former OSS star recorded her first win in 10 starts this year and registered her 10th lifetime victory. The mare now has career earnings of $480,969.
BC Mares Trot Final
1. Falls For You
2. Exotic Destination
3. Brigham Dream
4. Vulcanize
5. Wishful Me
6. Susies Magic
7. Flash Lightning
8. Godiva Hall
9. Lavec Dream
10. Bruschette
To view Mohawk's results, click here.