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Dreaming of Anna leads every step of the way in Virginia Oaks The last time DREAMING OF ANNA (Rahy) visited Colonial Downs, she captured the Tippett S. in course-record time en route to earning champion juvenile filly honors. Returning to that venue on Saturday, the Frank C. Calabrese homebred employed her trademark front-running tactics to take the $210,000 Virginia Oaks and score her biggest victory so far as a three-year-old. The Oaks was one of two stakes events on the Virginia Derby (G2) undercard. Under a well judged ride by E.T. Baird, the chestnut carved out splits of :24, :48, 1:11 3/5 and 1:35. Dreaming of Anna dug down determinedly inside the final sixteenth when New Edition (Stormy Atlantic) gradually closed the gap, crossing the wire with a half-length to spare. The Wayne Catalano-trained filly reeled off 1 1/8 miles on the firm turf in 1:47 1/5 to pay $8.40, $5.80 and $5 as the 3-1 third choice. New Edition tracked the pace throughout and emerged as the only potential threat in the stretch. The 25-1 shot gave game chase without seriously troubling the winner, giving back $16.20 and $8 while ending the $221.60 exacta. Christmas Kid (Lemon Drop Kid) was also close early, but she failed to menace in the lane and wound up another two lengths back in third. Sent off as the 5-2 second choice, she returned $3.40 and rounded out the $646.40 trifecta. The nearly 5-2 favorite, Bit of Whimsy (Distorted Humor), checked in fourth after a rough start, resulting in a $2,887.20 superfecta (9-12-8-5). Next came Snow Cone (Cryptoclearance), Lemonlime (Lemon Drop Kid), Ardnavagh (Fr) (Anabaa Blue), Swingit (Victory Gallop), Ciao (Lear Fan), Cabbage Key (A.P. Indy), Super Slash (Smoke Glacken) and Silence Dogood (Grand Slam). Bees (Rahy) was withdrawn. Dreaming of Anna has now amassed $1,446,572 from her 9-6-1-1 line. Unbeaten from four starts at two, the chestnut garnered the Eclipse Award in near unanimous fashion. After scorching 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:01 3/5 in the Tippett, she thrashed males in the Summer S. (Can-G3) at Woodbine and wired the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) by 1 1/2 lengths. Her sophomore campaign got off to a less than stellar start. She finished a distant third in the Old Hat S. (G3), second in the Gaily Gaily S. and sixth in the Kentucky Oaks (G1). To get back on the winning track, Dreaming of Anna sought class relief in the grassy Double Delta S. at Arlington Park and drove to a 1 1/4-length victory. That served as the perfect prep for the Virginia Oaks. Out of the multiple stakes-winning Broad Brush mare Justenuffheart, the Kentucky-bred is a full sister to stakes winner and multiple Grade 2-placed Lewis Michael. She has a pair of younger half-siblings, an unraced two-year-old colt named Justenuffhumor (Distorted Humor) and an unnamed yearling filly by Unbridled's Song. Justenuffheart is herself a half-sister to 2004 champion turf horse Kitten's Joy (El Prado [Ire]) and Mrs. Revere S. (G2) queen Precious Kitten (Catienus), who captured the Gallorette H. (G3) in course-record time two starts back. In what may have been perceived as a favorable omen for Dreaming of Anna, the day's opening stakes event was named after Kitten's Joy, the winner of the 2004 Virginia Derby. In the $60,000 Kitten's Joy S., Stronach Stables' homebred JUNGLE FIGHTER (Wild Rush) surged to a daylight lead in midstretch and just held off even-money favorite Karelian (Bertrando) by a half-length at the wire. Trained by Justin Nixon and ridden by Horacio Karamanos, the six-year-old gelding completed 1 1/16 miles on the inner turf in a sharp 1:41 4/5 to improve his record to 14-6-2-3 with $203,876 in earnings. Jungle Fighter was scoring his second straight stakes victory, following a tally in the Old Nelson H. at this course and distance last time out. The 4-1 third choice gave back $10.60, $4.80 and $3.40 while spearheading exotics worth $30.40 (exacta), $153 (trifecta) and $756.80 (10-7-9-6 superfecta). Karelian returned $2.60 and $2.40, while the 7-1 Logaritimo (Arg) (Allied Forces) finished another length adrift to yield $3.80. Bee Charmer (Ire) (Anabaa) got up for fourth at 11-1. Bred in Ontario, Jungle Fighter was produced by stakes winner and Grade 2-placed Joustabout (Apalachee), who also has an unnamed half-brother yearling colt by Red Bullet.
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