Los Alamitos sweep for Baffert as Dream Tree wins Starlet Stakes

By Jonathan Lintner

After a field of four crawled through opening fractions Saturday, Dream Tree finally let loose in the stretch while going on to win the Grade 1, $300,000 Starlet Stakes with ease at Los Alamitos.

The victory, paired with McKinzie’s triumph via disqualification in the Los Alamitos Futurity a race earlier, made trainer Bob Baffert the first to sweep the track’s 2-year-old features in the same year. Turns out the Hall of Famer can still make history — and has more decent horses lined up on the road to the Kentucky Derby and Oaks.

Dream Tree stalked Yesterday’s News through an opening quarter mile in 24.67 seconds, and they went the half in 49.25. At the top of the stretch, jockey Drayden Van Dyke loosened his hold on Dream Tree, a daughter of Uncle Mo, and she drove to a final time of 1:43.87 for 1 1/16 miles.

"She ran right through the stretch and I didn’t even have to pull out my stick," Van Dyke said. "It was just a hand ride.’’

Dream Tree moved her record to 3-for-3 and flashed a new dynamic with her Starlet win, as she was nearly caught at the wire twice while sprinting. Stretching out, she took an outside but clear trip the entire way, flourishing around two turns.

"I wasn’t sure about two turns," Baffert said, "but after she came back and worked the way she did (after winning the Desi Arnaz at Del Mar) is why I changed my mind and decided to run her in this spot.’’

Yesterday’s News was well back in second, while Piedi Bianchi got up for third in a photo with Exuberance.

War Heroine, a Peter Miller-trained filly based at San Luis Rey Downs, scratched after fires there Thursday forced relocation of horses on site there.