Charlene's Dream Aces Graded Opportunity in Gallorette

Trainer Ed Moger Jr. has had plenty of nice fillies in a career that began in 1976 and has included more than 2,000 winners, but in his mind, Charlene's Dream stands at the top of the list. "I've always thought she's the best filly I've ever had," Moger said. "She's a very, very talented horse." After a long wait, the Texas-bred daughter of Qurbaan finally got an opportunity to prove herself among graded company, taking the $150,000 Gallorette Stakes (G3T) with authority in a front-running romp. The 1 1/16-mile contest on the turf at Pimlico Race Course May 17 was Charlene's Dream's 4-year-old debut, returning off a long layoff since finishing seventh in the Sept. 11 Dueling Grounds Oaks Invitational Stakes. Moger said they really had no interest in running her in that long 1 5/16-mile race at Kentucky Downs, but were left with no other options. Despite being a three-time stakes winner, she had never participated in graded company before and was getting pushed to the also-eligible list whenever she entered. "We couldn't get her into any graded stakes because she had never been in a graded stakes," Moger said. "We entered her in three of them and we didn't get in, we weren't qualified." That's what led Moger to ending her sophomore season with about three months of turnout. When she was ready to go, he decided to ship the Domeyko Taylor-owned filly to Pimlico and enter the Gallorette. With only nine entries, she finally would be able to make her graded debut. She took the most of that opportunity right from the gate. Under jockey Umberto Rispoli, she took command at the break and would never relinquish. Posting fractions of :24.32, :49.37, and 1:14.92, she coasted into the stretch clear of competition and gave her rivals no instances where they could be hopeful for victory. "I was happy to let her go to the lead," Rispoli said. "(Moger) said, 'Wherever you land, wherever, she's happy on the lead, just stay with her and go with her.' She was happy on the fence in the lead, and she never gave up. The more ground there was to cover, she kept taking me to the wire." At the wire, she was 3 3/4 lengths clear of Austere with Ocean Club another two lengths back in third. Charlene's Dream completed the 1 1/16 miles in 1:46.92 over the good turf course. "I didn't think she'd get the lead that easy," Moger said of the race. "When they went by and everybody stayed off of her, I said, 'They're not going to catch her.'" Bred in Texas by Eric and Randi Moreau-Sipiere, Taylor purchased Charlene's Dream for $35,000 at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, where she was consigned by Julie Davies. Moger's high praise of the filly began not too long after. "She always did everything really good, she got a beautiful way of going. She's big and strong and doesn't get tired. And she's got a mind, too, she does everything right." Now 5-for-8, Charlene's Dream has earned $294,900. With the win, Charlene's Dream became the first graded winner for third-crop sire Qurbaan, who stands the 2025 season for a $2,500 fee at Indiana Stallion Station near Anderson, Ind. She's out of the winning War Front mare Clara Kelly.