A stone-cold ride by Chris Parnham saw the Universal Ruler filly Rusty Dreams power to a last-to-first victory in the Listed WARO-Belmont Guineas (1600m) at Belmont on Saturday.
Parnham did not have to go around a horse as Rusty Dreams was gifted a rails run to defeat the Exosphere gelding Upper Limits by a length and three-quarters, with the Rich Enuff gelding Demolish a length back in third.
Trained by Michael Lane, Rusty Dreams advances her record to five wins, a second, and a third from seven starts with earnings of $374,820.
“She was the best horse in the race, and with her turn of foot, we rode her quiet to see that,” Parnham said.
“Last time when I rode her over a mile, I probably butchered her.
“I was trying to calm her before the race. I did not dig her out, I laid on her neck, and she relaxed nicely.
“I think she will run a mile as a 4yo and beyond. She will make a really nice horse. I think she is the sought of horse that you could see later in the year in a race like the Starstruck or the La Trice.”
A homebred for Peter Capararo’s Canal Enterprise Syndicate, Rusty Dreams is the best of two winners from as many to race for the unraced Oratorio mare She Done Him Wrong.
From the family of Group II WATC Champion Fillies Stakes winner Mercurial Madam, She Done Him Wrong has not been covered for the past four seasons.
Rusty Dreams is the tenth stakes-winner for Scenic Lodge Thoroughbred Stud’s Universal Ruler.