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The Gray Blur wins MSW on Arlington Million Day at Arlington Park!

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08/10/19 | Arlington Heights, IL – Dare To Dream Stable’s promising 2 year-old gray colt, The Gray Blur, made his turf debut on The Arlington Million under-card. The Gray Blur was coming off a troubled trip in his debut on the Arlington Park polytrack last month. He showed flashes of talent in that race and was training forwardly leading up to this one mile Maiden Special Weight turf event. The Gray Blur would have the services of world class jockey Florent Geroux aboard this time and donning blinkers for the first time as well. The “Blur” broke from the 7 hole in the field of 9 talented maidens and although he veered out slightly leaving the gate, the master Geroux quickly redirected him to lead the field into the first turn. They continued to lead on the backside as Geroux tried to slow the pace down as much as possible. After an opening quarter mile time of 24.93, Geroux really slowed down that 2nd quarter and the half mile was timed at 51.36 with the talented son of Fast Anna relaxed on a 1 1/2 length lead on favored Flap Jack. The pressure was turned up on the 2nd turn as Flap Jack and jockey Adam Beschizza tried to get a bit closer to The Gray Blur. “Flo” asked The Gray Blur for a bit more and he responded keeping Flap Jack at bay. Flap Jack looked like he almost got on even terms with ”The Blur” as they turned for home, but Blur dug his heels in and repelled that challenge to open up and maintain a 1 length advantage through the stretch. In deep stretch Flo asked The Gray Blur for all he had and showed great determination to hold off Flap Jack and the rest of this talented field of maidens with the final margin of 1/2 length on the wire in a final time of 1.39.88. It was another 1 1/2 lengths to 3rd place finisher and 4 1/2 to fourth. The Gray Blur earned $18,000.00 in taking home the first place money in this $30,000 maiden special weight event.

Congratulations to the throng of Dare To Dream Stable partners who celebrated in the raucous winner’s circle in front of the huge Million Day crowd. It was quite a spectacle! Huge kudos to rising star trainer Chris Davis who did a fantastic job getting The Gray Blur ready.  Chris was confident that this colt would be better on the turf and going two turns, and also added the blinkers for this start. Chris and his assistant Mynor Ortiz are a fantastic team and having a real good Arlington meet. Of course, tons of credit to to jockey Florent Geroux, once again he showed why he’s one of the best around. “Frenchie” rode the “Blur” perfectly and also bagged two other turf wins earlier in the card.

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Embolden Wins by 10 Lengths on Opening Night at Colonial Downs!

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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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Memory Bank wins the Black Tie Affair Handicap at Arlington Park!

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07/20/19 | Arlington Heights, IL – Dare To Dream Stable’s Memory Bank became a stake winner by dominating the $75K Black Tie Affair Handicap at Arlington Park in race #8 today. What started out as an extremely hot sunny day in Chicago, suddenly turned into a cool rain soaked late afternoon, causing the Black Tie Affair to be taken off the turf and moved onto Arlington’s Polytrack. With that surface switch, there were a few scratches which moved Memory Bank to the inside post and leaving the race void of much speed. Jockey Mitchell Murrill was given instructions in the paddock to either try to go to the front or sit right off the only true speed horse in Christian C. Murrill was very aggressive in trying to get Memory Bank to the front as the gates opened, but jockey Jose Valdivia aboard Christian C aggressively angled in and cut off Murrill while almost slamming Memory Bank into the rail before the first turn. At that point, Murrill smartly guided Memory Bank to the outside and quickly got on the flank of the leader. Those positions did not change on the backside with Memory Bank always right on the throat latches of Christian C. Approaching the seven sixteenths, Murrill asked Memory Bank for a bit more and collared Christian C who was now under a drive and having trouble keeping up. Memory Bank spurted away and opened up a clear advantage into the top of the stretch. From there on Mitchell just had to keep Memory Bank focused on finishing the job. He did just that, crossing the wire an easy 3 length winner with long shot Hannity finishing second ahead of the tiring Christian C.

With this stake win Memory Bank surpassed $200,000 in career earnings. The consistent 5 yr old chestnut son of Misremembered, who gives his all each and every race, now has 5 wins from his 22 starts. Along with those wins are 7 seconds and 6 thirds, making him an outstanding 18 of 22 in the money with total earnings of $202,876.

Congratulations to all the Dare To Dream Stable partners, many of whom were in attendance for this great victory. It was another fantastic training job by Mike Stidham, Hilary Pridham, Rigo Rosas and the entire Stidham team. Finally kudos to jockey Mitchell Murrill who rode a picture perfect race in guiding Memory Bank to victory. A special congratulations to Mitchell as this was his first stakes victory at Arlington Park! We were fortunate to also be a part of the first stakes victory of his career when he guided Jockamo’s Song to victory at the Fairgrounds back in 2015.

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Senor Blanco wins at Arlington Park!

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07/21/19 | Arlington Heights, IL – Dare To Dream Stable’s Senor Blanco capped off a terrific weekend for the stable by drawing off at the top of the stretch and easily dispatched his 6 rivals to cross the wire a comfortable 2 3/4 lengths to the good of his nearest competitor  in winning for the 7th time in his career.  Senor Blanco was coming off a pretty good 3rd place effort in his first race off the claim for Dare To Dream.   This time around Senor Blanco was much sharper and ran like we expected him to when we claimed him in early June.  Once again jockey Mitchell Murrill was aboard Senor Blanco and was told to keep him close before making his move when called upon.  Senor Blanco broke sharply and briefly went to the lead before Murrill allowed long shot Campioni to dictate the pace while he sat off that leader on the backside.  Murrill patiently stayed within one length down the backside just biding his time.  When they approached the 7/16th’s, Murrill and Senor Blanco made a 2 wide move and cruised past Campioni with 3/8th’s of a mile remaining.  He then kicked clear and held sway through the stretch under mild urging to win by 2 3/4 lengths while never really being challenged.  Senor Blanco has now amassed $163,704 in his 27 race career.  Along with his 7 wins, he also has 2 second place finishes and 8 3rd place finishes.  This hard knocking Chosen Deputy Gelding gives you an honest effort just about every time he goes to post.

Congratulations to the Dare To Dream Stable Claiming partnership on this nice claim and victory!  Special mention to Michael & Mary Lou Jassak & Martin O’Connor for their first win with Dare To Dream! It was a great training job by young gun Chris Davis and his trusty assistant Mynor Ortiz, as Senor Blanco was razor sharp for this effort.  Finally to our go to rider Mitchell Murrill who provided us with 2 excellent rides and completing the weekend double with this nice win!

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Jockamo’s Song wins allowance at Arlington Park in comeback race!

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08/03/18 | Arlington Heights, IL – Dare To Dream Stable’s multiple stakes winning gelding, Jockamo’s Song, easily dispatched his 8 other rivals in winning a five furlong allowance turf dash by a clear 1 3/4 lengths. The classy gray went to post off an 8 month layoff after suffering an injury in a 4th place stake effort back in early December 2017 which required some time off to heal. The handsome son of Half Ours looked great in the paddock before the race and would leave the gate as the 9/5 favorite in what was a pretty tough allowance field. Jockey Mitchell Murrill did a fantastic job of hustling Jockamo’s Song out of the gate and getting him in a great spot tracking the early speed of Singinintheheat and Gray Mensch while only 3 lengths off the early pace. After the first 1/4 mile run in 22.42, Jockamo’s Song had already cruised passed Gray Mensch and had his sights set on leader Singinintheheat, who had a 2 length advantage on him. Turning for home it appeared to be a 2 horse race, with the rest of the field 5 lengths behind. The Louisiana Sprint Champion was gradually making up ground on the leader and in mid stretch he easily passed Singingintheheat at the sixteenth marker and went clear to the wire, stopping the clock in 57.72. This was Jockamo’s Song’s 9th victory, four of them being stake wins. He also has 3 seconds and 2 thirds from 21 starts and has now amassed $375,714 in his outstanding racing career.

Congratulations to all the Dare To Dream Stable partners many who were in attendance for raucous winner’s circle celebration. Many of the partners were seeing their favorite gray champion for the first time as his other 8 victories were achieved in the Pelican State of Louisiana. This was a fantastic team effort in getting Jockamo fit and ready off the long layoff. Kudos to Danny and Charlena Werre who provided great care in legging him up at both at their EllAda Farm and then at The Thoroughbred Center in Lexington, KY. Props also go out to trainer Mike Stidham, Hilary Pridham, Rigo Rosas, and the entire team for having “Jocko” sharp and ready for a tough allowance sprint off the lengthy layoff. Thanks as well to jockey Mitchell Murrill. Mitchell & Jockamo have been quite a pair over the years. Mitchell’s first ever stakes victory of his career was aboard Jockamo’s Song 3 years ago! Mitchell rode him just like he had so many times in the past, crossing the wire on top!

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Allaire wins starter allowance at Arlington Park!

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07/29/18 | Arlington Heights, IL – Dare To Dream Stable’s Allaire, making her first start for the stable today in race #7 at Arlington Park since being claimed 3 weeks back, won a 5 furlong turf dash by a measured 3/4 length leaving her connections feeling awfully happy with their newest acquisition. Allaire was coming off a sub-par effort in her last start when Dare To Dream Stable decided to put in a claim on the 5 yr old daughter of Arlington Million winner Cape Blanco. After a few weeks of fine tuning by trainer Chris Davis, it was time to see if those changes would produce winning results. Breaking from the 2 hole it was important for jockey Mitchell Murrill to get Allaire out in good order and establish a nice position right off the expected speed pair. Allaire broke sharply and Murrill was able to put the dark bay mare in 3rd right off the early pace setting duo and on the outside of those two dueling leaders. Allaire looked to be in the garden spot as she was shifted 3 wide at the 5/16th’s marker. She stayed 3 wide through the turn and into the lane where Murrill then engaged leader Sullyvin’s G G and kicked past her in the final furlong. She held the closers at bay to the wire to take the winning share of the $21,240 purse. While it was her first win with Dare To Dream Stable, Allaire now has 5 wins in her career with earnings of over $120,000.

Congratulations to the Dare To Dream Stable partners on the win and an astute claim. Hats off to trainer Chris Davis who did a fantastic job training this mare and making the necessary adjustments to improve her off the last race. This was also the first win for the stable with Chris since he joined the team earlier this Summer. He is off to a great start for the stable with a 3-1-1-1 record and is having a great Arlington meet overall. Chris is sure to have many more wins for Dare To Dream Stable in the near future! Thanks to jockey Mitchell Murrill who rode Allaire for the first time, but did a terrific job of  having the mare in the perfect spot while guiding her to the victory.

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Memory Bank wins at Arlington Park in Allowance Company!

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05/27/18 | Arlington Heights, IL – Dare To Dream Stable’s 4 yr old gelding Memory Bank overcame a troubled trip to secure a very nice $38K allowance win at beautiful Arlington Park. Memory Bank was coming off a well deserved mini-vacation after a long and successful 2017 thru the early part of 2018 campaign. The handsome son of Misremembered would go to post as the even money favorite in this one mile route on Arlington’s pristine turf course. Memory Bank, breaking from the inside post, was very keen from the get go and jockey Mitchell Murrill had his hands full in the early stages of the race. Going into the first turn, Memory Bank was a bit rank and up on the heels of the early leaders. Murrill had to make sure he didn’t clip heels with any of those horses right in front of him while trying to put the brakes on Memory Bank and having to maneuver him out of trouble at the same time.  Memory Bank finally settled going down the backside, but was still in tough position bottled up on the inside of horses. Murrill had a ton of horse left going into the 2nd turn and it was just a matter of finding an opening for Memory Bank to make his patented, sustained move. With about a furlong to go, Murrill was able to shift Memory Bank out a lane off the rail and he burst through an opening in between horses to surge into the lead. Memory Bank was then able to fend off a charging Andreas to secure the victory by 3/4’s of a length, while it was another 2 1/4 back to the third place finisher. This was Memory Bank’s 3rd career victory in 11 starts. He has 4 seconds and 2 third place finishes to go along with those victories. In fact he has only finished off the board in one start, one in which he was the victim of a horrendous decision by the Gulfstream Park stewards and DQ’d from another second place finish earlier this Winter. The remarkably consistent Memory Bank has now amassed $87,347.00 in career earnings. He will look to move that total over the $100K mark when he makes his next start in the $75K Black Tie Affair Handicap going 1 1/16 miles on the turf at Arlington on June 9th.

Congratulations to all the Dare To Dream Stable partners, many of whom were able to enjoy the winner’s circle celebration in front of a large Memorial Day weekend crowd. Kudos to trainer Mike Stidham, Hilary Pridham, and Rigo Rosas getting Memory Bank ready to win off the layoff. A shout out to trainer Danny Werre for doing a fantastic job of caring for Memory bank while on vacation and then getting him fit and sharp for his return. Lastly, thanks to jockey Mitchell Murrill for not panicking when he was in a bit of a compromising position for much of the race, knowing he was on the best horse.

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Memory Bank wins at Tampa Bay Downs in Allowance Company!

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01/05/18 | Tampa, FL – Dare To Dream Stable’s 4 year old gelding, Memory Bank, gutted out a hard fought allowance win on the turf at Tampa Bay Downs on a sunny Friday afternoon in Oldsmar, Florida.  Memory Bank was coming into this race off three consecutive 2nd place finishes, all in tough allowance conditions.  On this day, the handsome chestnut Illinois bred son of Misremembered, who looked like the one to beat on paper in this 1 1/16 mile turf event, would finally get the trip needed to take home the winning purse money.  Breaking from an outside post, which has been the unlucky norm for Memory Bank, Jockey Brian Pedroza hustled the chestnut out of the gate to try and secure a comfortable stalking position without getting hung out too wide.  Pedroza had Memory Bank in 5th about 5 lengths off the pace but only 2-3 wide after the opening 1/4 mile.  As they moved down the backside, the expected pacesetter and second betting choice Trismen looked to be traveling comfortably while holding a 1-2 length lead.  After six furlongs, Memory Bank was still about 5 lengths off the lead and it looked like Pedroza was going to have a lot of work to do to catch Trismen who was still traveling easy on the lead as he looked or his 3rd win in a row on the grass.  When they approached the 2nd turn, Memory Bank was being asked for his run by Pedroza. He responded and started closing the gap on the leader while passing the other few runners who were part of the early pace scenario.  Memory Bank was 3 lengths behind and still had a lot of work to do to reel in the leader Trismen as they completed the bend and straightened for home.  Pedroza vigorously asked Memory Bank for all he had and the gutsy gelding gave it to him, making up ground with every stride.  Even with Memory Bank working hard, it was beginning to look like the finish line might come too quickly as Trismen was proving to be a very worthy adversary.  Memory Bank would not give up without a fight and with a last desperate burst in the closing yards he was able to stick his nose in front right as they crossed the wire to earn the victory!

Memory Bank now has 2 wins, 4 seconds, and a third in 9 career starts with earnings of $62,447.  In his 9 starts, the consistent chestnut gelding has crossed the wire in the top 3 in 8 of those contests as he was unjustly D’qd from another 2nd place finish at Gulfstream Park West 2 starts back. Congratulations to all the Dare To Dream Stable partners who are really enjoying the ride with Memory Bank. Thanks to a great job by trainer Michael Stidham, Hilary Pridham, Ben Trask, and the entire team for keeping Memory Bank in great form and looking fabulous as well!  Finally kudos to Jockey Brian Pedroza who worked his tail off getting Memory Bank to the wire in time, and is winning at close to a 50% clip riding Stidham horses at the meet.

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Memory Bank wins at Arlington Park in MSW Company!

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07/20/17 | Arlington Heights, IL – Dare To Dream Stable’s Memory Bank,  a 3 year-old IL Bred gelding by Misremembered, was making only his second career start today after a very encouraging 2nd place finish in his debut in a 1 1/16 mile turf MSW event a couple of weeks ago. This race was originally scheduled for 1 mile on the grass, but a heavy downpour in the morning forced it onto the main Polytrack surface at Arlington Park at a 1 1/16 mile distance. Jockey Mitchell Murrill, who just recently moved his tack back to Arlington Park for the remainder of the meet, was climbing aboard Memory Bank for the first time in a race. The handsome chestnut broke well in this field of 8 runners and Mitchell assumed an inside stalking spot through the clubhouse turn. Mitchell got Memory Bank out in between horses and into a real nice spot on the backside stalking the speedy Bill Mott trained & Juddmonte homebred, Confiscate. At the 5/16th pole, Memory Bank engaged Confiscate and dueled with that foe to the furlong marker where it appeared Mitchell had much more horse left than Confiscate’s rider, Jose Valdivia Jr.. Memory Bank began to edge clear in mid-stretch and in deep stretch easily dispatched with Confiscate to pull clear and win by a widening 2 1/4 lengths at the wire. It was a very impressive and dominant effort by Memory Bank who certainly didn’t mind the switch to polytrack and looks to have a very bright future for Dare To Dream Stable! With the victory and his earlier second place finish, Memory Bank has earnings of $29,120.00 in his 2 starts.

Congratulations again to all the partners on this very impressive victory that was witnessed by many DTD partners that were in attendance at Arlington Park. A great training job by Mike Stidham, Hilary Pridham, Rigo Rosas and the entire team as Memory Bank looks to be another runner on the rise with a bright future. Finally, congrats to regular stable rider Mitchell Murrill, whom it’s very nice to have back at Arlington Park riding for Dare To Dream again! He gave Memory Bank a perfect ride!

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