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| Staff Writer |
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Desert Dawn, a top-earning Arizona-bred in Thoroughbred racing, will attempt to make history on Saturday by becoming the first Arizona-bred to win a Breeders' Cup race.
Owned by Holly Crim, who has a background in law but shifted her primary business to horse breeding in 2019, Desert Dawn was born on the family ranch in Arizona, where Holly was even present to "pull" the filly from her mother's womb. The filly was named for the stunning sunrise that followed her birth.
Desert Dawn will compete in the Gr.1 Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff, a 1 1/8-mile championship event for fillies and mares at Santa Anita Park. If she finishes in first or second place, she will also become Arizona's first equine millionaire. Holly describes the ranch, which breeds around 30 broodmares annually and currently races 8-10 horses each year, as a combination of business and passion. Despite winning only two races lifetime, Desert Dawn has been a steady purse earner and earned just shy of a half-million dollars in 2019.
“While we’ve sadly missed seeing both of her victories in person, we’re always so excited and proud just to see her run,” Holly said. “Living in Scottsdale, Arizona, requires some advance planning to watch her run in person. But we certainly go as often as possible.”
Trainer Phil D'Amato, who has been guiding Desert Dawn's career since her debut in the summer of 2021, made the decision to enter her in this year's Distaff. However, her first attempt at the Breeders' Cup against other juvenile fillies in the same year resulted in an unplaced finish.
“She’d just placed in a stakes race at Santa Anita and I thought we should take a shot, especially with such a small field (six starters). It didn’t work out,” D’Amato said.
“Phil feels positive about her and how well she’s doing, so, of course, we’re hoping for a better outcome,” Holly said.
The trainer added, “Her best two races were the win in the Santa Anita Oaks and that placing in the Kentucky Oaks. This race feels like a Kentucky Oaks-type of race, with a big field and lots of speed. That’s when she runs her best.”
Although Desert Dawn is up against a formidable lineup of accomplished rivals, it is unlikely that any of the other owners have developed as intimate a connection with their horses as the Crim family. Holly, who has been involved since the beginning, will be present at Santa Anita on Saturday, passionately hoping that Desert Dawn will achieve something extraordinary.