Whispering Oaks Farm LLC’s SHE’S A JULIE earned her first stakes win when drawing off for a 5 1/2-length triumph in Thursday night’s $200,000 Iowa Oaks (G3) on day one of Prairie Meadows’ Festival of Racing.
Baydar led the way early through splits of :23.17, :46.78 and 1:11.84 while She’s a Julie bided her time in second until given the signal by jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. The sophomore lass grabbed command and pulled off in the stretch to stop the clock in 1:43.33 over the fast main track.
She’s a Julie paid $8 as the 3-1 second choice. Cosmic Burst rallied to take second by a length over Hold Her Tight, with Testing One Two following in fourth by another 2 3/4 lengths. Completing the order of finish were Baydar, Tell Your Mama, 9-5 favorite Sassy Sienna, Shes Our Fastest and Terra’s Angel.
She’s a Julie has now banked $210,530 lifetime to go along with an 8-3-1-1 career mark. The Steven Asmussen trainee broke her maiden by 5 1/4 lengths at first asking in May 2017 at Churchill Downs and filled the seventh spot in the Debutante under the Twin Spires a month later.
The Elusive Quality filly wasn’t seen in competition again until finishing third against allowance/optional claiming rivals on January 19, then tried graded rivals for the first time when sixth in the Rachel Alexandra Stakes (G2) in February. She ran fifth in the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) and just missed by a head in an allowance/optional claimer in her past pair before returning to the winner’s circle here.
Bred by Godolphin in Kentucky, She’s a Julie is out of the Dubai Millennium mare Kydd Gloves, making her a half-sister to the dam of listed winner Ambassadorial. Her second dam is multiple Grade 3 heroine Parade Queen, who is also the granddam of Grade 1 winner, millionaire and leading sire Bodemeister. That stallion finished second after setting the pace in both the Kentucky Derby (G1) and Preakness Stakes (G1) in 2012.
One race earlier at Prairie Meadows, Asmussen sent out Mike G. Rutherford’s homebred DREAMCALL to easily run down dueling pacesetters Mended and Girl Power in the lane of the $100,000 Iowa Distaff. The bay lass flew home to record a 4 1/2-length score under a perfectly timed ride from Santana.
Dreamcall was worth $7.20 as the 5-2 second choice for completing 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.38. The Midnight Lute four-year-old is riding a three-race win streak after taking an allowance/optional claimer and the Jack Bishop Stakes in her past pair. She improved her career mark to read 15-5-2-2, $271,484.
The stakes action got underway at Prairie Meadows on Thursday evening when Juddmonte Farms’ GOLDEN MISCHIEF posted a five-length victory in the $100,000 Saylorville Stakes with jockey Florent Geroux aboard.
The Brad Cox-trained four-year-old ran six furlongs in 1:09.49 and returned $3.80 for the win as the 4-5 favorite. The bay daughter of Into Mischief now boasts five stakes triumphs and a 19-8-3-0, $469,400 career record.
