Dream Of Joy - 2FT
Bay filly, 2, Victory Dream -- Astoria Lobell, by Joie De Vie
Owner
Olle Leven
Owner Olle Leven of Sweden knows that in the game of chance that is horse racing, there are no chancier propositions than 2-year-old trotting fillies. They can be fleet of foot, but fractious, trot with the wind or spook at the slightest breeze. The best ones are good early, but the allure of a trotting filly is her potential. What they are and what they can be. In 1999 the Breeders Crown champion was more than just a dream. For Leven, she was a Dream Of Joy.
Dream Of Joy, a regal daughter of Victory Dream and Astoria Lobell, had the potential for excellence from the moment she was born. In addition to the natural abilities of her parents, she was being brought to the races in the very capable hands of Per Eriksson. No stranger to excellence, Eriksson had been the training driving force behind no fewer than nine Crown winners as well as Hambo winners Prakas, Giant Victory and Alf Palema.
Eriksson selected Dream Of Joy for $74,000 from the Hunterton Farm consignment to the 1998 Kentucky Standardbred Sale. She was one of three yearlings Leven purchased – one did not make the races but the other was Credit Winner, a freshman trotter who would close out his year with close to half a million dollars. Under Eriksson's patient handling Dream Of Joy, a bigboned filly, did not make her debut until a sixth-place finish in the Reynolds at Pocono Downs on July 13. Scratched sick from her next start, Dream Of Joy was fourth in an elimination for the Merrie Annabelle at the Meadowlands.
Still largely a bundle of unrealized potential, Dream Of Joy, with Jim Meittinis in the bike, stepped onto the track as a 17-1 longshot for the $484,000 Merrie Annabelle at the Meadowlands on August 5. Less than two minutes later, a furious stretch rally carried her by Marita's Victory and to the winner's circle, one-and-a-quarter lengths the best, in 1:57.
That remained her only victory when she and 17 other fillies reported for duty at Mohawk raceway. After the eliminations, the ten finalists included two fillies with seven wins apiece on their card; Miss Nittany, from western Pennsylvania, and It's Made To Order, a daughter of Garland Lobell. The elims were won by Cherished Victory, riding a three-race win streak into the Crown for the trainer/driver team of Mike Lachance and Ron Gurfein, and Bold Dreamer, from the equally intimidating Chuck Sylvester-John Campbell pairing.
Dream Of Joy and Meittinis finished fourth, trotting their mile in 2:01.1, good enough to get into the final but not enough to inspire a lot of confidence from the wagering public. Add post nine to that chore and she was rightfully accorded odds of 34-1 in the $652,092 Breeders Crown final.
Trainer | Driver
Per Eriksson | Jim Meittinis
As the gate folded, Armbro Temple, Naughty Hall and Cherished Victory made breaks, pushing post time favorite Bold Dreamer and John Campbell way wide into the first turn. Meittinis also avoided the breakers and quickly tucked third on the pylons. Campbell kept Bold Dreamer on the lead, despite pressure from Miss Nittany through a three-quarters in 1:28.4. Dream Of Joy was safely back in third along the inside, and at this point Mettinis asked his filly for the first time to trot hard after the leader. Dream Of Joy responded, sweeping past a tiring Bold dreamer and Miss Nittany to win by three lengths in 1:57.2. Aviano also passed Bold dreamer, but Campbell held that one for third place honors.
Olle and Berit Leven rushed to the winners circle. It was their third start in Crown competition and each event had been hosted in Canada. Their filly lookout Victory won both her freshman and sophomore Crown event at woodbine racetrack in 1994 and 1995, making them a perfect three-for-three. It seemed as if each time the really big money was on the line, Dream of Joy responded with a big effort.
Dream Of Joy was bred by Steve Katz of Kentucky's Walnut Hall, Ltd. and George Denti of New York, and from the second crop of Hambletonian winner Victory Dream. She gave Jim Meittinis his first Crown triumph in his first start, and Eriksson his ninth Crown trophy.
Having passed the most daunting test for freshmen fillies, Dream Of Joy would go on to win the $392,400 Goldsmith Maid Final (at odds of 35-1) at Garden State Park on November 12. She is the first filly in history to sweep these three filly classics. That win helped affirm her status as the leading two-year-old trotting female in North America. The first-place check, when added to her Merrie Annabelle and Breeders Crown wins, gave her record earnings of $826,601, the most ever won by a two-year-old trotting filly, surpassing the old mark of Peace Corps, who had won $668,599 in her debut season.
Dream Of Joy's seasonal earnings bought her just a few dollars shy of the all-time, two-year-old trotting money record of $840,328, established by Express Ride, in 1985. Dream Of Joy easily took year-end honors and was voted both the Dan Patch and HTA two-year-old filly champion. She suffered a stall accident over the winter that ended her racing career, but her stablemate Credit Winner would answer the challenge in 2000 and boost his earnings over the 1 million mark.
Purse $652,092
Mohawk Racetrack, Campbellville, ON - October 29, 1999
Extras
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