OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The New York-bred Olympic Dreams has acquainted himself quite well in open company over the last four months, knocking out two open-company allowance conditions and running well in a third.
Thursday, Olympic Dreams looks to clear the third-level open condition going his preferred distance of 1 1/8 miles in Aqueduct’s featured event on an eight-race card.
Olympic Dreams, a 5-year-old gelding by Medaglia d’Oro, is coming out of a runner-up finish behind Law Professor going a one-turn mile in this condition Feb. 23. Law Professor, a stakes winner who also defeated Olympic Dreams in January, was sold last week at Fasig-Tipton’s March digital sale and is no longer based in New York.
In that Feb. 23 race, Olympic Dreams was part of the early pace. Thursday, it looks like he’ll be able to sit just off the pace under Trevor McCarthy from the rail.
“He’s in good form right now, he should run a good race,” trainer Pat Quick said. “I’m not crazy about [the] one-hole, but there seems to be a lot of speed in that race. We’ll see what happens.”
The degree of difficulty this field presents will be determined based on whether Quality Chic runs or not. Quality Chic was beaten a neck in the Queens County in December and a nose by Kinetic Sky in the Stymie on March 2. In between, he did finish fifth in the same Jan. 26 allowance in which Olympic Dreams was third.
Trainer and part-owner David Jacobson said he and co-owner Larry Roman are still discussing where to run Quality Chic. Options, in addition to Thursday’s race, include waiting for the $150,000 Excelsior here March 30 or perhaps going to Oaklawn for the $500,000 Oaklawn Mile, also on March 30.
Jacobson said he and Roman will definitely run Laughing Boy on Thursday. Typically, a forward-running horse, Laughing Boy found himself chasing the pace in the Stymie. He has finished behind Olympic Dreams the last two times he’s run against him.
Good Skate finished third behind Olympic Dreams and Laughing Boy on Jan. 7 but came back to win a second-level allowance going 1 3/16 miles on Feb. 3. Kuchar, who was third in that race, came back to win his next start, defeating Leading Contender, who was second in that Feb. 3 race.
Good Skate is trained by Mike Maker, who also sends out Curlin’s Wisdom, who returns to the open-company allowance ranks after three dismal efforts in New York-bred stakes competition. The return to allowance company allows Curlin’s Wisdom to get back on Lasix, medication not permitted for use in stakes.
Guntown finished 1 1/4 lengths behind Olympic Dreams when third in the Feb. 23 race in which Olympic Dreams was second. Guntown’s only start at 1 1/8 miles was a fifth-place finish behind Signator last November.
Tabeguache won the St. Louis Derby for trainer Brad Cox last August. He is 0 for 3 in New York, but he was beaten only a nose by Kinetic Sky in a Dec. 28 allowance.