Grade 1 winner Mia Mischief will hope a drop in class triggers a return to form in the $120,000 Dream Supreme Stakes on Friday at Churchill Downs.
The daughter of Into Mischief is something of a Churchill Downs specialist. From seven starts over the Louisville oval, she has acquired four victories and a pair of seconds. During the spring and summer she demonstrated particularly strong form, claiming the seven-furlong Humana Distaff (G1) before defeating possible Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) favorite Covfefe in a gut-wrenching edition of the six-furlong Roxelana Stakes.
The draining effort required to out-duel Covfefe seemed to take a toll on Mia Mischief, as the Steve Asmussen-trained filly disappointed in her next two starts at Saratoga. But she showed signs of returning to form with a close third-place finish in the Thoroughbred Club of America (G3) on October 5 at Keeneland, so dropping in class while returning to her favorite track could be just the recipe she needs for success. Hot jockey Julien Leparoux has the mount.
Mia Mischief isn’t the only Churchill Downs specialist entered in the six-furlong Dream Supreme. Divine Queen has won four of her five starts over this track, including a decisive 2 3/4-length triumph in the Open Mind Stakes sprinting six panels on September 14. The only concern? This Buff Bradley-trained four-year-old has finished out of the money in her four previous runs against graded stakes company.
Majestic Reason, most recently third in the Gallant Bloom H. (G2) at Belmont, boasts solid form lines against high-class sprinters and could find the competition a bit easier on Friday. Meanwhile, Ascot Day and Upset Brewing—second and third behind Divine Queen in the Open Mind—will endeavor to raise their games to a new level in the Dream Supreme.
An intriguing newcomer to the Churchill Downs stakes scene is Meadow Dance. Never out of the trifecta in seven starts, including a third-place finish in the 2018 Alcibiades (G1) at Keeneland, Meadow Dance is 3-for-3 this season, a streak that includes a decisive allowance win at Churchill and a front-running score in the Weathervane Stakes at Laurel. Trainer Brad Cox has this three-year-old daughter of Jimmy Creed heading in the right direction for arguably her toughest test yet.
Completing the field are Pretty Greeley, eighth in the Thoroughbred Club of America; Shanghai Tariff, winner of the Saylorville Stakes at Prairie Meadows, and Skamania, a Churchill Downs allowance winner on September 29.
The Dream Supreme is the ninth race on the Friday card, with a projected post time of 6:37 p.m. (EDT).
