DARING TO DREAM
Brooklyn-bred owners talk Triple Crown
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Anthony Bonomo and Vinnie Viola, boyhood pals since their stickball-playing days in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, began eyeing a Triple Crown bid after Always Dreaming’s emphatic 2 ¾-length Kentucky Derby triumph.
“I think the horse is uniquely positioned,” said Viola as he stood outside Barn 40 at Churchill Downs on Sunday, one day after the horse of their dreams dusted 19 opponents to remain unbeaten through four starts this season.
“He looks like he didn’t run,” said Bonomo, standing nearby.
Their willingness to put the horse first may reap greater rewards as they look to the 1 3/16-mile Preakness on May 20 at Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course and, if they should clear that hurdle, to the 1 ½-mile Belmont Stakes on June 10 at Belmont Park.
Always Dreaming barely stretched his legs as a 2-year-old. When he was transferred to trainer Todd Pletcher from the barn of Dominick Schettino last September after two solid but winless starts, Pletcher suggested they send him to a farm operated by James Crupi in Ocala, Fla., to allow him time to mature.
Always Dreaming returned an imposing 3-year-old. He romped by 11 lengths in his seasonal debut Jan. 25, leaving ownership with another major decision.
They could run him in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park with the hope of beginning to accumulate points needed to make the Kentucky Derby field or take a much easier path by entering an allowance race at Gulfstream. They chose the March 4 allowance, resulting in a comfortable four-length win.
That brought them to an all-ornothing Florida Derby on April 1. Always Dreaming needed a top-two finish to have enough points to make the Kentucky Derby cutoff. He rolled by five lengths and completed the mile and an eighth in 1:47.47 seconds for John Velazquez, his regular rider. It was the fastest Florida Derby time since Alydar’s 1:47 in 1978.
The Kentucky Derby made it four wins this year by a combined 22 ¾ lengths — margins that suggest Triple Crown history could lie ahead for Brooklyn Boyz Stables.
Viola said of Pletcher’s masterful handling of Always Dreaming: “I don’t think the genius of that can be overestimated. I told Todd I wouldn’t be surprised if other trainers study this campaign because this horse is fresh.”
American Pharoah ended a 37-year wait for a Triple Crown champion in 2015, when he became the 12th horse to complete the historic sweep. Pletcher, typically very cautious, looked ahead to another historic quest.
“It’s an exciting time for the sport and, obviously, what everybody looks for is the potential for another Triple Crown candidate,” Pletcher said. “So long as that goes, you have pressure trying to do that. But it’s a welcome pressure.”
Pletcher was making arrangements for Always Dreaming to be flown Tuesday to Pimlico, where he intends to train him with a light touch and allow him time to recharge during the swift two-week turnaround to the Preakness.