Dream Tree romps in Starlet

Phoenix Thoroughbreds III’s Dream Tree moved her record to a perfect three-for-three on Saturday when drawing off for a 3 1/4-length victory in the $294,000 Starlet Stakes (G1) at Los Alamitos.

The Bob Baffert-trained bay tracked the pacesetting Yesterday’s News through splits of :24.67, :49.25 and 1:13.28 on the backstretch. Dream Tree moved up to challenge the leader in the lane, took over and pulled away to finish 1 1/16 miles over the fast main track in 1:43.87 under jockey Drayden Van Dyke.

Sent off the 2-5 favorite, Dream Tree returned $2.80 for the win. She also earned 10 points toward a starting berth in next year’s Kentucky Oaks (G1). The Starlet was the last 2017 points race on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks and awarded 10-4-2-1 points to the top four finishers.

Yesterday’s News took home the two points for proving best of the rest in second. It was another 5 1/4 lengths back to Piedi Bianchi, who just got her nose down on the line to take third over Exuberance.

Dream Tree has now banked $270,000 in lifetime earnings with this third career win. She took her debut, a Santa Anita Park maiden, on October 27 by a nose, then recorded a win in the November 18 Desi Arnaz Stakes at Del Mar by that same margin.

Bred in Kentucky by Mike and Pat Freeny, Dream Tree is out of the Afleet Alex mare Afleet Maggi and counts as a half-sister stakes runner-up O’ Maggi. Her fourth dam is Grade 3 heroine Good Mood, who is also the granddam of 2012 Travers Stakes (G1) dead-heat winner Golden Ticket.