2017 GI Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming (Bodemeister) had his first workout in over five months Monday, breezing three furlongs for trainer Todd Pletcher at Palm Beach Downs. The workout, an “easy solo three furlongs” according to Palm Beach clocker Dave Norton [video], came just over a month after returning to Pletcher's care after spending the autumn recovering from a severe bout with stomach ulcers. Always Dreaming is owned by a conglomerate partnership consisting of MeB Racing, Brooklyn Boyz, Teresa Viola, St. Elias, Siena Farms, West Point Thoroughbreds, WinStar Farm, SF Bloodstock and China Horse Club.
“Our Derby winner Always Dreaming is back on track!” iconic retired race announcer and part owner Tom Durkin wrote in a Tuesday tweet. “Looking forward to a fun summer. It'll be a few weeks before a start if all goes well.”
Always Dreaming blossomed during the winter at Palm Beach Downs in 2017, breaking his maiden at Tampa Bay Downs in late January en-route to a pair of wins at Gulfstream Park in an optional claimer and the Apr. 1 GI Florida Derby. That top-level success propelled him to the winner's circle on the first Saturday in May–a 2 3/4-length success in the slop at Churchill Downs. He was subsequently eighth in the GI Preakness S. after engaging in a swift early pace and checked in third in the GII Jim Dandy S. July 29.
Sidelined following a ninth-place finish in the GI Travers S. at Saratoga Aug. 26, Always Dreaming spent a three-month stint at WinStar Farm as he recovered from the ulcer condition and logged some light exercise over the training track in December. In a December interview with the TDN, WinStar CEO Elliott Walden stated that the ownership group's goal was to have Always Dreaming back to the races by springtime.
“With the talent he's shown, it's very exciting to have him coming back,” Walden said. “There are a lot of big races and we're looking forward to him competing.”
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