Cinderella’s Dream, Domestic Product, Mullikin win N.Y. stakes

Godolphin’s U.K. homebred Cinderella’s Dream was the belle
of the ball Saturday in the 46th running of the Grade 1, $500,000 Belmont Oaks Invitational contested by 3-year-old fillies at 1 3/16 miles on the firm outer-turf
course at Belmont at the Big A.

Ridden confidently by William Buick and trained by Charlie
Appleby, the daughter of Shamardal made her first start in North America a
spectacular one as she stormed home through the lane from far off the pace to
run down the dueling Segesta and 4-5 favorite She Feels Pretty at the wire. She
captured her first Group 1 or Grade 1 victory and set a course record of
1:53.42.

Click here for Belmont at the Big A entries and results.

Juddmonte’s Segesta, off at 7-1 odds in the field of nine,
turned in a big effort under Irad Ortiz Jr. to take second, beaten by
three-quarters of a length. She Feels Pretty, the 4-5 favorite with Hall of
Famer John Velazquez in the irons, ran her best as well, but it wasn’t enough,
and she wound up in third by a nose.

Cinderella’s Dream rebounded from a seventh-place finish in
the 1,000 Guineas (G1) against top-notch Europe competition in her last start May
5 at Newmarket, England. Before that she was undefeated in four career efforts,
all in stakes company, in Dubai and England. Although she never had raced
beyond one mile, the distance of the Belmont Oaks presented no trouble for the
maternal granddaughter of Dubawi out of Espadrille.

“She ran a creditable race in the (1,000) Guineas really on
ground that probably might not have suited her either,” Appleby said. “Her
training has gone well, and she’s been based in Saratoga. She came in yesterday,
and the team were very happy with her preparation going into it. The plan was
always to drop in and ride the race that we rode, and off the turn all we just
needed was the splits. Once she leveled off there and accelerated, we were
pretty confident.”

Segesta took the lead shortly after the break and set honest
fractions of 23.79, 48.96, 1:13.25, and 1:36.33 with She Feels Pretty racing
close behind. When they entered the stretch the pair engaged in a spirited
battle down the lane but were outclassed inside the final 70 yards by fast-flying
Cinderella’s Dream.

Buick said he did not expect to be as far back as he was
after exiting post 8 of nine with the talented filly.

“It was the plan to get her to relax early and to come with
a run, but I probably ended up farther back than I really wanted to,” Buick
said. “She was posted a little wide in 8, and I just didn’t want to cover
ground, but look, she picked up really well. From the quarter pole I always
felt I was going to get there.

“She
showed when she ran in Dubai in the winter that she has a real good kick, but I
was a little bit impressed with her there, because I thought the Juddmonte
filly (Segesta) who made the run, she got it her own way in front. She wasn’t
going very fast, and Johnny (Velázquez) sat in the best position in the race.
So my filly had to pick up well to pick those two fillies off.”

Appleby said the race set up nicely for Cinderella’s Dream
and all worked according to plan.

“Originally we had spoken about following the favorite (She
Feels Pretty) around there, and the favorite was drawn outside in (post) 7 and
had a nice pitch all the way around, box seat there on the wing, and I thought I
wouldn’t mind just being sat behind that now. We knew we had plenty of horse
underneath us turning, and frankly the splits came, and she’s a class filly and
picked it up,” he said.

Segesta, who is trained by Chad Brown and is by Hall of
Famer Ghostzapper, was looking for her third straight win after taking the Wonder
Again (G2) at Aqueduct on May 27 and graduating from the maiden ranks on the
Keeneland lawn April 21. She demonstrated future promise with her near miss,
runner-up finish.

“The pace was honest. I don’t feel like we went too slow,” Ortiz
said. “There was not too much speed in the race. My filly was (the speed). The
pace she ran at Keeneland was 47 (seconds), and she was right on top of them, so
I felt like she was the speed of the race. That was the plan Chad told me. She
broke good, and I let her do her thing. I was close.”

She Feels Pretty, from the barn of Cherie DeVaux, also put
in a valiant effort while battling all the way to the wire.

“Tough beat,” Velázquez said. “I really think she’s better
off covered up, but we just didn’t have any cover for her today, and then she
kind of hung. She still ran a good race, though. It was either I let them go
way too slow and they steal it from us, or we put a bit of pressure. It’s
either-or. At the three-eighths pole I had to put a little bit of pressure on,
and she ran good.”

Appleby thought the pace set up was more beneficial to regally
bred Cinderella’s Dream than the one she encountered in the 1,000 Guineas.

“Most definitely,” Appleby said. “She’s a filly that
stepping up. This trip was always going to suit her as well on pedigree. We
were always confident that she was the right filly coming into the race. She’s
learned plenty and had a good experience. It was her first start in America,
and she can only progress. She’s been enjoying Saratoga. If you don’t enjoy
yourself at Saratoga, we’re struggling. Thankfully, the results are showing.”

Cinderella’s Dream might try for another glass slipper in
the Saratoga Oaks Invitational (G2) on Aug. 2. Legend of Time, whom Appleby
also trains for Godolphin and was third Saturday in the Belmont Derby
Invitational (G1), may make his next start as well in the $600,000 Saratoga
Derby Invitational (G1) on Aug. 3.

“She’ll go back to Saratoga and head to the Saratoga Oaks.
Both horses will go to the (Saratoga) Derby and Oaks,” Appleby said.

Cinderella’s Dream returned $9.30 for a $2 wager. With the
$275,000 winner’s share of the purse, she upped her lifetime earnings to
$497,956.

Pin Up Betty, Secret Satire, Buchu, Dynamic Pricing, Sy B,
and Fun With Flags rounded out the finish in that order.

Domestic Product cruises to Dwyer triumph

Domestic Product made it look easy when drawing clear to a 7 1/2-length victory in the $200,000 Dwyer (G3), a one-turn mile for 3-year-olds.

A Klaravich Stables Kentucky homebred trained by four-time Eclipse Award-winner Chad Brown, the son of Practical Joke rebounded from a prominent second in the 1 1/16-mile listed Pegasus on June 15 at Monmouth Park, where he was involved in a four-way battle for command up the backstretch under Flavien Prat and could not reel in runaway frontrunner Tuscan Sky.

Domestic Product was given a more patient trip this time around with Prat in the irons once again, breaking well from post 3 in the four-horse field and settling in third as Billal broke sharpest from the inside to hug the rail and mark the opening quarter-mile in 23.51 seconds over the fast main track.

Prat kept Domestic Product under a tight hold up the backstretch as Billal maintained a short advantage over Grade 3 winner Hades, and Save the Trees saved ground in last through the half-mile in 46.27 seconds. Prat relaxed his hands a touch into the turn, and Domestic Product responded with aplomb to range up three wide around Hades and challenge Billal for the lead.

The top duo drew well clear of Hades at the top of the stretch as Save the Trees ran evenly behind his foes, but Domestic Product kicked well clear after seven furlongs in 1:21.38 and widened his margin with every stride down the lane to win wrapped up with a final time of 1:33.54.

A game Hades re-rallied to take place honors by five lengths over Billal, who finished four lengths ahead of last-place Save the Trees. Prat said Domestic Product relished the slight cutback from the Pegasus.

“He was traveling very well. I felt in control the whole race, and he responded really well turning for home,” Prat said. “He took a very nice breather around the turn. I didn’t know how much the leader (Billal) had left, but when I called on him, he responded very well.”

Domestic Product boasts a 2-for-3 record over the Big A main track after graduating at second asking there in October. He turned the tables on Hades after finishing second to his familiar foe in Gulfstream Park’s Holy Bull (G3) in February en route to a win in the Tampa Bay Derby (G3) in March and a troubled, off-the-board finish in the Kentucky Derby. The dark bay colt earned $110,000 in victory, returning $3.40 on a $2 win ticket as the 3-5 post-time favorite.

Paco López, aboard Joe Orseno-trained Hades, said his mount likely would appreciate more ground.

“That was a good trip. When I moved, I took him out a little late. And the other horse (Domestic Product), he is known to be a good horse. He broke his maiden here,” López said. “We ran very good. My horse, I’m pretty sure that a little longer is better for him. For sure two turns.”

Mullikin sprints to 1 1/2-length win in Nerud

Mullikin edged clear to a 1 1/2-length score in the Grade 2,
$200,000 John A. Nerud, a seven-furlong sprint for older horses Saturday at
Belmont at the Big A.

Trained by Rodolphe Brisset and piloted by Flavien Prat, the
4-year-old Violence colt remained undefeated in 2024, having entered from a
pair of prominent sprint scores in Kentucky against winners.

Mullikin broke alertly from the outermost post 5, but it was
the Irad Ortiz Jr.-piloted Prevalence who emerged to take command through
splits of 22.54 and 44.87 seconds over the fast main track. Mullikin kicked up
the tempo and took over the lead late in the turn as Coastal Mission was roused
by Arnaldo Bocachica and loomed as the main danger.

Prat asked Mullikin for more at the top of the lane, and the
colt responded in kind, kicking clear of Coastal Mission to notch the win with
a final time of 1:20.54. It was a farther 2 1/4-lengths back to
Ninetyprcentmaddie with Everso Mischievous and Prevalence rounding out the
order of finish.

Brisset said he was pleased to see Mullikin better behaved
at the gate.

“We know the gate can be his little hiccup, but we have
learned from him. He did it today. When he got in, he tried to go on the lower
end, and then the guy got him up and left him alone,” Brisset said. “If you try
to do too much, he’ll start to do it again, so after that he broke and was in
position. From there it’s up to the horse and the jock. Perfect position and a
good ride. It looks like he’s stepping up with the time (he posted), so we’ll
see how the number comes back, bring him home and go from there.”

Mullikin enjoyed a solid sophomore campaign, graduating by
10 1/4 lengths in May 2023 at Churchill Downs ahead of a runner-up effort to
graded-stakes winner Ryvit in the seven-furlong Maxfield over sloppy and sealed
footing last July at Ellis Park.

He is undefeated as a 4-year-old, returning in April with a
5 3/4-length romp in a first-level allowance at Keeneland before a prominent 3
1/4-length score in a seven-furlong, optional-claimer on June 8 at Churchill
Downs.

Prat, aboard for the seasonal debut score, said Mullikin is
developing well.

“Very nice horse. He can be a little sluggish out of the
gate, but today (he) jumped well,” Prat said. “He just has a very high cruising
speed, and he was game down the lane. I think Rodolphe did a great job to bring
him to that point, and the horse has improved race after race.”

Brisset said the effort may have earned Mullikin a start in
the seven-furlong, $500,000 Forego (G1) on Aug. 24 at Saratoga.

“That’s the logical next thing, but we’re going to have to
see how he comes out. That’s what we’ll be looking at,” Brisset said. “We opted
to come here, because (it would give us) seven weeks until the Forego, and he’s
actually a little better off if he has more space between racing we think. With
running that fast today, I’m happy we have six or seven weeks and not four.
We’ll see how he comes out.”

Mullikin, a $500,000 purchase at the 2021 Keeneland
September yearling sale, is out of graded stakes-placed Congrats mare Tulira’s
Star, who is a half-sister to graded-stakes winner Mountain General.

Bred in Kentucky by Fred Hertrich and John Fielding,
Mullikin banked $110,000 in victory while improving his record to 8: 4-3-0. He
returned $4.40 for a $2 win bet.