Rowland takes Dream Astray wire-to-wire for maiden-breaking score

In seven rides aboard Dream Astray at Tampa Bay Downs and Monmouth Park, Manny Jimenez was able to guide the Gone Astray gelding to three seconds, but never into the winner’s circle. He also never put the 4-year-old gelding on the lead.

That ended at Meadowlands yesterday when Gulfstream sensation Madeline Rowland hopped aboard Dream Astray for the first time in a race at one mile on the turf course. Rowland sent Dream Astray to the lead out of the gate, and the gelding put up fractions of :23.73, :47.91 and 1:12.06 en route to a wire-to-wire score in 1:38.58. Dream Astray edged away on the final turn and was never threatened in the stretch, breaking his maiden by two lengths with his best ‘E’ speed figure of 80, and paying $4.60.

Dream Astray, a California-bred, earned a check for $9,900 and gave Gone Astray his 40th winner of 2022.

In a six-furlong test over a sloppy track at Finger Lakes, Jaqueline Davis guided New York-bred Big Cyn to a come-from behind victory by a head at odds of 2/5. In her last nine starts, the 5-year-old Handsome Mike mare bred by Patricia Generazio is 2-3-3, and she’s 6-3-6 in 28 career starts. The check for $7,560 boosted her earnings to $107,820.