Interstatedaydream holds off Misty Veil to win the Allaire du Pont Distaff (Maryland Jockey Club)
David Joseph/Maryland Jockey Club
BALTIMORE— Flurry Racing Stables’ multiple graded-stakes winner Interstatedaydream held off pesky long shot Misty Veil through the length of the stretch and edged clear late for a popular half-length victory in the $100,000 Allaire du Pont Distaff Friday at historic Pimlico Race Course.
The 30th running of the 1 1/8-mile Allaire du Pont for fillies and mares 3 and up was the first of six stakes, three graded, worth $1 million in purses on a sensational 14-race Black-Eyed Susan (G2) Day program headlined by the 99th edition of the 1 1/8-mile fixture for 3-year-old fillies.
It was a triumphant return to Pimlico for trainer Brad Cox, jockey Florent Geroux and Interstatedaydream ($3.40), who sprung a 6-1 upset in the 2022 Black-Eyed Susan for her first career stakes win. She would go on to capture the Indiana Oaks (G3) in her subsequent start before being shut down for the season.
Geroux settled 3-5 favorite Interstatedaydream on the lead through a quarter of a mile in 24.35 seconds and a half in 48.93, pressed to their outside by multiple stakes winner Falconet with Misty Veil and Butterbean in behind. Falconet between horses and Misty Veil three-wide moved up to even terms with Interstatedaydream rounding the far turn, before Falconet began to drop back.
Interstatedaydream straightened for home with a short lead and Geroux kept the 4-year-old Ontario-bred filly to task as Misty Veil, sent off at 21-1, dug in on her outside to challenge but could never get by. It was another half-length back to Le Da Vida in third, followed by Falconet, Butterbean and Misty Mauve.
Cox previously won the du Pont with Mylady Curlin in 2019, while Geroux won last year aboard Norm Casse-trained Super Quick.
Third in the Azeri (G2) and fourth in the Doubledogdare (G3) to start this year, beaten 2 ¾ lengths both times in her first tries against older horses, Interstatedaydream now owns five wins, two seconds and two thirds from 10 career starts.
The du Pont honors the late avid sportswoman and horsewoman best known as the owner of Hall of Famer Kelso, the unprecedented and unsurpassed winner of five consecutive Horse of the Year championships from 1960-64.
$100,000 Allaire du Pont Quotes
Winning Trainer Brad Cox (Interstatedaydream): “I loved her going into the Azeri. I thought she was doing well. She hooked obviously two very good horses in Secret Oath and Clairiere and ran an incredibly respectable race. She stayed at Oaklawn, (and) her works leading up to the Keeneland race, they were OK. They weren’t bad; she was moving well. I just thought her works were a little flat there at Oaklawn when she shipped into Keeneland. I brought her to Churchill as soon as the Keeneland race was over. Look, she threw up two 59s (five-furlong works) the last couple of weeks. I kind of squeezed on her a little more, maybe that was the difference there late. Obviously, she liked the company, she liked the track, and she got a good trip.”
“There have been a couple of times she’s run where she got right there and had to battle back. She never gives up. Even last time at Keeneland, she looked like she was going to be well-beaten, and she stayed on to end up fourth. Yeah, there was some concern there. But Florent obviously knows the filly very well and saved enough there late.”
Winning Owner Staton Flurry (Interstatedaydream): “I was kind of worried turning for home. Misty Veil got up beside her. I thought ‘Man, is she going to dig in?’ She did. Misty Veil is a nice horse. It seems like third off the layoff is Interstatedaydream’s money time, and hopefully we can build from here. Flo [jockey Florent Geroux] rode a great race, kind of let her go.”
Winning Jockey Florent Geroux (Interstatedaydream): “She showed a lot of heart today, especially the last furlong. It was very simple. A six-horse field. I was inside. She showed speed. We pretty much knew, depending on the break, whoever broke good was going to make the lead. Irad (Ortiz Jr.) put his filly (Falconet) right next to me. I didn’t feel like we were going super-fast. But it was pretty legitimate fractions. It looked like the filly (Misty Veil) took a swing at me. I switched my stick. But when my filly looked at her in the eye, she gave me another gear the last sixteenth of a mile.”
