Dream of Summer Tries to Find Place in the Sun

The richest event on Saturday’s California Cup card is the $250,000 Classic, but it is not the best race.

That honor belongs to the $150,000 Matron, a 1 1/16 -mile contest for older fillies and mares that attracted three graded stakes winners and the defending champion (Royally Chosen) among six entrants.

Dream Of Summer, a 5-year-old Siberian Summer mare, is the hottest of a trio that also includes Yearly Report and Summer Wind Dancer.

Owned and bred by Jim Weigel, Dream Of Summer has won four in a row and six of eight for trainer Juan Garcia, including back-to-back graded victories in the A Gleam Handicap at Hollywood Park and the Rancho Bernardo in her last start at Del Mar on Aug. 21.

A winner in her only start at Santa Anita a little over a year ago, Dream Of Summer, who will be ridden by Mike Smith, will be trying two turns for the first time in the Matron.

A homebred owned by Betty Mabee’s Golden Eagle Farm, Yearly Report will be trying to give trainer Bob Baffert his second Matron win. Successful in the Black Eyed Susan at Pimlico and Delaware Oaks at Delaware Park earlier in the year, Yearly Report has two wins and a second to Silent Sighs in three previous races against California breds. Summer Wind Dancer, who won the 2002 Cal Cup Juvenile Fillies, won the Hawthorne Handicap at Hollywood Park and Delaware Handicap in a span of six weeks earlier in 2004 before finishing a disappointing fourth as the 6-5 favorite in the Lady’s Secret Breeders’ Cup Handicap on Oct. 3.

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The Classic, which is run at 1 1/8 miles, drew 10 entrants, including the last two winners -- Calkins Road and Tizbud.

Trained by John Sadler for Cees Stable LLC, Tizbud, a 5-year-old Cee’s Tizzy horse, hasn’t run since he won this race by three lengths a year ago as a 10-1 longshot.

“We’re happy to have him back,” Sadler said. “This is a nice place to get started with him. He’s training very well and this is a good distance for him.”

Calkins Road, who is trained by John Shirreffs for Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Shapiro, also was 10-1 when he beat Continental Red by a head in 2002. Saturday’s race will be the first for the 5-year-old Illinois Storm horse since he won a minor stakes at Santa Rosa on Aug. 7.

The 5-2 morning line favorite in the Classic is Excess Summer, a six-time winner who will be looking to give jockey Gary Stevens his third win in the event. Stevens won the Classic with Luthier Fever in 1995 and with Awesome Daze two years later.

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The other California Cup races are the $100,000 Distance Handicap, $50,000 Starter Sprint Handicap, $125,000 Juvenile and Juvenile Fillies, $50,000 Starter Handicap, $150,000 Sprint, $150,000 Distaff and $175,000 Mile.