In an impressive career debut, Danny Eplin’s Dreamfyre made short work of her rivals in winning the $75,000 Everett Nevin S. at Pleasanton on July 9, to become the first stakes winner and fourth winner, overall, for Darby Dan Farm’s Flameaway, currently the No. 3-ranked First-Crop Sire.
Trained by O.J. Jauregui, Dreamfyre took command of the 5 ½-furlong event at the break and set a fast pace to the far turn, rattling off an opening quarter in an eye-catching :21.77 and a half in :44.27. Under jockey Francisco Duran, she shook free at the head of the lane and drew clear in the stretch to score by a dominating 3 ½ lengths, stopping the clock in 1:04.51.
Bred in Kentucky by John Oxley, Dreamfyre was acquired by Eplin for $140,000 out of the SGV Thoroughbreds consignment at this year’s OBS Spring Sale where the dark bay or brown filly breezed an eighth in :09 4/5 at the sale’s under tack preview. Darby Dan Farm sold Dreamfyre originally as a yearling at the 2022 Keeneland September Sale where she was purchased by Lehigh for $130,000. Dreamfyre is produced from the graded stakes-placed Sky Mesa mare Appreciating and is a half-sister to Grade 1-placed Nasreddine.
Flameaway’s first 2-year-olds at auction have lit up the board this year and they include a filly that sold to Justin Casse, agent, for $370,000, the highest-priced horse by a freshman sire at the OBS June Sale and the highest-priced filly of the sale overall. All told, he has had 36 2-year-olds in training sell from 42 offered for total sales of $2,330,000, good for an average of $64,722.
For more information on Flameaway, contact Stuart Fitzgibbon at (859) 621-6763 or by email at [email protected], or visit darbydan.com.
