by Don Clippinger

Longtime owner Frank Calabrese knew there was something special about his Rahy filly when he named her after his sister, Anna, who had died 16 years earlier.

Dreaming of Anna lived up to her name in more ways than one in her debut season as she captured the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies in front-running fashion to solidify the Eclipse Award for champion two-year-old filly—a dream of every horse owner, including Calabrese.

When Calabrese first saw Dreaming of Anna, who is out of the Broad Brush mare Justenuffheart, he was struck by the resemblance to his sister: same hair color, same athletic ability.

Following a maiden victory at Arlington Park, she won the Tippet Stakes at Colonial Downs by 7 1/4 lengths and established a course record, covering 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:01.63.

A plan to run her in the Arlington-Washington Lassie Stakes literally was washed out by heavy rains, and again Dreaming of Anna took a detour, heading to Woodbine for a 3 1/4-length victory against males in the Summer Stakes (Can-G3) over the turf.

Trainer Wayne Catalano then prepared her on Keeneland Race Course’s Polytrack surface for the Juvenile Fillies, in which she was favored at 2.60-to-1. She laid down all the pace and easily turned back second finisher Octave by 1 1/2 lengths to lock up her championship.

Don Clippinger is editorial director of Thoroughbred Times