Dream Ahead pulled off a mild upset in the seven-furlong group I Qatar Prix de La Foret at Longchamp, nabbing favored Goldikova in the shadow of the wire to win by a head.
Under jockey William Buick, Dream Ahead was entering the Foret off of a narrow victory in the Betfred Sprint Cup. Although he had previously never won a race longer than six furlongs, he was nevertheless one of the races major contenders and figured to have the best shot at defeating Goldikova.
Goldikova's pacemaker Flash Dance broke well and went straight to the lead, but was joined quickly by Worthadd. Goldikova was tucked into a perfect spot third along the rail, while Dream Ahead had settled on the outside in fourth. The positions remained pretty much unchanged until about four hundred meters from home, when Flash Dance drifted off the rail to let Goldikova through. The three-time Breeders' Cup Mile winner shot through along the inside under no urging to take the lead, but she soon had to brace herself for the challenge of Dream Ahead, who was coming on strongly despite checking off Worthadd's heels in the stretch. A thrilling duel ensued, with Goldikova maintaining a narrow advantage for much of the stretch and Dream Ahead drifted to the outside, and then back to the inside. But in the final strides, Dream Ahead got the measure of his older rival and won by a head in 1:18.10.
Surfrider finished a very distant third, while Bewitched completed the superfecta.
-Keelerman
No comments:
Post a Comment