The General George Stakes (Grade 3)- $250.000 Purse
LRL- For Four Year Olds and Upward
Seven Furlongs on the Dirt
February 18, 2017

After running in the middle of the pack most of the way, both Dreaming Again and Give Your All would wait until the stretch to make their winning moves, and a thrilling run to the wire was set up between them while the pacesetter Kremlin tried to hang on the best he was able, but could do nothing to prevent his two rivals from passing him on each side in the late moments.  In the end, the race did seem to be more about these three horses as the rest of the field would never be much of a factor.  Dreaming Again would prevail, taking his second straight race, each at seven furlongs, for trainer Gdp Inc.  It is the trainers first win in the stake.  Aboard the winner was I Ortiz Jr, who earns his second General George victory.  Congratulations to the winners!  The time of the race was 1:21.47, a good time, but a second and a half slower then Alpha Ultimo’s 1:19.96 in 2008.  Man, that was a good horse.  Here’s a look at the result!

1st- 2- Dreaming Again (9/2)- Our eventual winner from Gdp Inc started the race in the middle of the field and was not too concerned with the pace being set up front.  Interestingly, the horse that he seemed to be glued to even early on was Give Your All as the two of them prepared to have a fascinating stretch battle.  At a quarter mile, he was a head behind his rival, and would turn that into a head in front before they reached the top of the turn.  Another thing I Ortiz Jr did well was time his move around Team Panther perfectly, because when that one wanted to get by Hold My Steel, Dreaming Again had just pulled into that lane and prevented that move.  Had he not done this, then Give Your All might have gotten a half length or so on him, and that could have been vital.   While rounding the turn and entering the stretch the eventual top two were pouring it on and had their sights set on the leader.  Everyone watching knew it was ultimately going to be decided between these two.  For Dreaming Again, it was helpful that he had the inside lane, because Kremlin never really interfered with his path to the wire.  He did not interfere with Give Your All much either, but it seemed to be just subtle enough to allow Dreaming Again to get a bit of separation from his main rival.  Dreaming Again remained in a full drive until they hit the wire, and scores the big victory!  Dreaming Again is a five year old gelding by the underrated Time Too Dream, and out of Burning Britt.  He was bred in California by Evesham Allstars as a third quarter two year old, and was acquired by Gdp Inc in the June 2015 auction for $37.000. Congratulations to the connections!

2nd- 4- Give Your All (2/1)- Never seemed to be far from Dreaming Again at any point in this race.  The Mb Stables entry started in the middle of the field, running right beside the rival he would be in a tight stretch battle with later.  They matched strides down the backstretch as well, about three and a half lengths from the front.  The made their moves at the same time that would make synchronized swimmers proud.  The problem for Give Your All was that Dreaming Again had more of an inside line and a nose in front, so he’d have to find a way to just be a little bit better, and not equal.  Dreaming Again had an easier time getting around Kremlin since he was to his inside, and that made all of the difference in this showdown.  Give Your All lived up to his name, but settles for second.

3rd- 7- Kremlin (10/1)- The longshot from Maxmillion Farm got off to a strong start, and would run second to Hold My Steel in the opening furlongs, before taking the lead midway through the backstretch.  By the time they reached the turn, he extended the lead to a length.  Within the turn, he set the half mile time in :46.19.  At the top of the stretch, he seemed to be in a good spot, with an advantage of just under two lengths, but on this long frontstretch, there was still plenty of work to do.  Seemed to do the best he could, but the top two would be quicker on this day.

4th- 6- Social Inspector (5/1)- Running for Scarleyandgraystable, the only inspecting this gelding did early was from the back of the field, as he was unhurried out of the gate and ahead of only Magic Time down the backstretch.  Seemed as though he had something left in the tank as they approached the exit of the turn, but the jockey opted for quite a wide lane when maybe he could have just followed Dreaming Again on through.

5th- 1- Team Panther (31/1)- The longest shot on the board, from Tiratzo, got off to a decent start, but did not attempt to pressure the top two in the backstretch.  He sat off the lead by about two to three lengths, and was ahead of Dreaming Again and Give Your All.  This seemed to be a good position for him at this point.  Ran consistently around the turn, but those looking for him to have a little spark and make a run in the stretch would be disappointed, as he ended up being quite flat late.

6th- 3- Hold My Steel (3/1)- The second entry from Mb Stables was sharp out of the gate, going right to the lead.  He’d be the leader at 1/4 mile, running that in a time of :23.38, but would relinquish the lead to Kremlin soon after that point.  Remained in a stalking position.  Stayed there about midway into the turn before passing the team baton to Give Your All, and bowing out.

7th- 5- Magic Time (6/1)- It was promptly to the back right away for the Sarah Stables entry, and unfortunately for the trainer, he seemed to like it back there and never made any sort of move throughout the race, other then get a length or so closer at the very end.

Track: Fast
Time: :23¹  :46   1:09²  1:21²

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 2 – 4 Paid 21.80
$1 Trifecta: 2 – 4 – 7 Paid 202.00

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES