08/08/19 | New Kent, VA – Dare To Dream Stable’s 2 year-old colt Embolden stamped himself as a horse to be reckoned with by dominating a field of Maiden Special Weight turf sprinters and winning by a widening 10 lengths, while under wraps in the stretch. Embolden was making the second start of his career after a real nice debut where he ran 2nd at Monmouth Park to a well-meant $300,000 auction horse. This time with a race under his belt, the athletic and regal looking son of The Factor was expected to take care of business. With jockey Paco Lopez aboard again, Embolden broke sharply and immediately went to the front end against his 7 rivals and opened up a short lead. Embolden was cruising through the opening fraction of 22.53 for the opening quarter mile while on a relaxed lead. Approaching the 3/8th’s pole, Embolden was engaged by Great Camanoe and jockey Richard Boucher. That tandem appeared a danger to Embolden, but appearances can be deceiving! Paco Lopez looked over at that rival and just shook the reins and the odds on favorite responded by spurting away to leave Great Camanoe far back in his rear view mirror! From that point on, Embolden was in cruise control and Paco just had him under wraps in the stretch with the margin just widening with each stride. Embolden crossed the wire 10 lengths to the good in a final time of 57.81 for the 5 furlong turf dash. He took home $30,000 for the win and now has $40,000 in earnings after his two starts. It was an ultra impressive performance by Embolden and we now look forward to his stakes debut on September 7th at Colonial Downs in the $100,000 Jamestown Stakes.

Congratulations to the Dare To Dream Stable Partners who are all extremely excited about their colt’s future. What a terrific training job by trainer Michael Stidham and his outstanding staff, (Hilary Pridham, Ben Trask, and the entire team) for having this colt ready for this kind of performance. The barn has always been high on Embolden and expected this type of performance. Additional gratuity to jockey Paco Lopez, who knows how to get his horses to the finish line first. He knew he was on the best horse and rode with confidence.

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