Dream Supreme S. – Race 10 (5:36 p.m. ET)
One week after a field of five contested the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) at Del Mar, some of the best female sprinters to skip the championship race will square off in Saturday’s $300,000 Dream Supreme S. at Churchill Downs.
The most accomplished entrant—and the possible favorite—is Bell’s the One, who boasts a flashy 7-3-3-0 record over the Churchill Downs main track. The five-year-old mare achieved her signature victory in the seven-furlong Derby City Distaff (G1) at Churchill last fall, but Bell’s the One is just as effective over the six-furlong distance of the Dream Supreme.
Indeed, Bell’s the One is 6-for-7 over this trip, which includes a tenacious late-charging win in the Thoroughbred Club of America S. (G2) at Keeneland last month.
But victory in the Dream Supreme isn’t guaranteed for Bell’s the One—not with Sconsin in the field. A Churchill Downs specialist with a 7-4-2-0 resume over the track, Sconsin handed Bell’s the One her lone defeat over six furlongs when battling to victory in Churchill’s Open Mind S. two months ago.
Sconsin and Bell’s the One have actually met five times overall, with Bell’s the One edging her rival on three occasions. Adding intrigue to their budding rivalry is the fact both are late runners who hope to see a quick pace unfold on Saturday.
Fortunately for the favorites, the Dream Supreme field contains ample speed on paper. Two-time stakes winner Elle Z hasn’t been headed during the first two calls of her last nine starts, and though she’s competed primarily on turf, her 3-for-4 record on dirt includes a sharp allowance win at Churchill during the spring meet.
But Elle Z figures to face a pace challenge from fellow frontrunner Vintage Ready, a former claimer entering off back-to-back allowance wins at Mountaineer and Belterra Park.
Frank’s Rockette is another with the tactical speed to be prominent from the outset. Victorious in three graded stakes (and twice placed at the Grade 1 level), Frank’s Rockette exits a fifth-place effort in the Thoroughbred Club of America. But she displayed better form during the summer when posting a gate-to-wire win over Blinkers in the Saylorville S. at Prairie Meadows.
Completing the Dream Supreme field is Club Car, a formidable win threat after cracking the trifecta in all seven of her starts this season. The five-year-old mare came within a neck of upsetting Bell’s the One when second in the Thoroughbred Club of America and picks up hot jockey Joel Rosario for the rematch.
