It was the most literal of dream scenarios.The thing is, it had happened before. From time to time, Valerie Mastromonaco will have a dream–always about a horse–and then something will happen to bring it to life. Nothing dramatic, most of the time. True, once she dreamed that a particular horse in the barn had a problem, and unfortunately turned out to be right. But she doesn't take the phenomenon too seriously, as a rule; nor expect anyone else to do so. “I've no theories,” she says. “I just think it's something a little quirky and different about me. I can't explain it.”But whatever might be going on, it's certainly not a case simply of having so many dreams that some are bound to coincide with real life. “It doesn't happen often, maybe once every couple of years,” Mastromonaco explains. “But the dreams that I do have are very vivid, and very specific. So I just follow them and see where it goes.”One way or another, this curious receptivity has now served up something pretty special.The timing has been comforting, too, as Mastromonaco embarks on a new chapter in her life, reverting to her maiden name after recent divorce. Many in the industry will know her better under the surname she shared, along with a business, with former husband Tristan de Meric. Their work was all with 2-year-olds, but the dream that seized her imagination in January 2018 unequivocally suggested something different: a mare in foal to Quality Road.“We didn't own mares,” she confirms. “Tristan was going to the Keeneland January Sale, and I asked him to look at the three or four mares in the catalogue in foal to Quality Road. But they all scratched except one, so that helped the process! He sent me some videos and said, 'She's really nice, Val. A big, pretty mare, with a beautiful eye.' I told him that we needed to buy her. And then, to make sure, I told Carrie Brogden who stood by him in the back ring as he bid.”The mare, an unraced daughter of Tiz Wonderful named Polyester, had just turned eight and her three previous foals remained works in progress. In fact the first had made an unexciting racetrack debut just a couple of weeks previously. But after they bought the mare, in partnership with France and Irwin Weiner for $90,000, her second foal turned out to be Harpers First Ride (Paynter), 12-for-23 including the GIII Pimlico Special Stakes.The in utero foal proved to be a filly, and could only be named In a Dream. They did toy with putting her in a 2-year-old sale–that, after all, was their program–but wound up keeping her. Polyester was meanwhile paying her way: the purchasers of her Practical Joke colt liked him so much (he was duly stakes-placed) that they came back and gave $675,000 for her next colt, by Bolt d'Oro. But while In a Dream herself did win a Horseshoe maiden, second time out, she only managed one other start.“To this point, it's not looking like the dream is making a ton of sense,” Mastromonaco admits. “But Polyester's babies were just so beautiful and athletic, and it feels so good as a breeder when the buyers really like what you're producing. So we thought we would breed In a Dream.”Harper's First Ride | HorsephotosBut where might the maiden mare find her dream date? Mastromonaco wryly concedes that she was tormenting Brogden.“Carrie, she's my best friend,” she says. “And I always refer to myself as 'the nightmare client,' because I've got one mare and I'm scared to get it wrong. And she's giving me all these options and nothing is good enough, stud fees are too high and I don't want to do this and don't want to do that. And I remember her calling and saying, 'You're going to miss the window here. You need to make a decision. She needs to get bred the next couple days.' And I don't know why, I just said, 'How about a foal share to Uncle Mo?'”Brogden evidently implied that she was crazy, but promised to try Aisling Duignan at Ashford. Somehow the request was indulged, and the resulting filly–born on Dr. Jean White's farm in Ocala–was a knockout.“The filly was beautiful from birth, and grew into a stunning athlete,” Mastromonaco says. “She was so impressive that we skipped the yearling sale and took her to what we knew we did best, a 2-year-old sale.”At OBS March last year, paying $320,000, Saffie Joseph Jr. put together a partnership with Averill Racing and Mathis Stable that allowed the consignors to retain a piece. In November the filly won a state-bred maiden at Gulfstream by 12 lengths and, following a couple of runner-up finishes in graded stakes this spring, a few days ago she won the GII Black-Eyed Susan Stakes. For this, of course, is My Miss Mo.“The family just continues to give so much joy,” Mastromonaco says. “The great thing is that the babies out of Polyester and now In a Dream all have great minds on them. It's corny to say, but it is a dream just to watch it all come together.”Mastromonaco was unable to get to Laurel–but that was fine, too. Finding herself in the middle of a reset that is simultaneously personal and professional, she's grateful for the support of friends and clients such as Roy and Gretchen Jackson of Lael Stable in developing a business of her own.“I had horses shipping out to the racetrack and it's important to get the next class ready and on their way,” she says. “I wanted to be with them to make sure that they get off safely. I don't have a big stable at the moment, but I have some very, very good clients that have stood by me. In that time, when I was uncertain of how to go forward, just to have people like that wanting to stay with you, it's hard to put into words, it meant a lot.“I also owe a lot to Julie Davies and Chalino Lopez for their help and support. Julie and I have a very similar philosophy, regarding both training and life in general. I have tremendous respect for their abilities and consider them highly skilled professionals. While they enjoy a loyal base of repeat clients, I believe their talent and horsemanship deserve even broader recognition within the industry.”Mastromonaco herself certainly has the necessary resumé. After showing horses during her Canadian girlhood, she discovered Thoroughbreds in Ontario during her college years. She knew nothing at first, and remembers being handed a shank on her first morning as hotwalker and told just to keep turning left. Trainer Barbara Minshall proved a key mentor, and opened her eyes to the breadth of the industry when bringing her down to Ocala one winter. The following year Mastromonaco joined Eddie Woods, and acknowledges a lasting debt to the Irishman and his wife.“Eddie was instrumental in moving my career forward.” she says. “We're still very close: Angela is my daughter's godmother, and they're still people that I call often for advice. I was a little young blonde who didn't have a lot of knowledge, but they gave me a shot. They have always steered me in the right direction, I've tried to make them proud and I'm very grateful for their support right through from the beginning to now.”The business she operated with Tristan ran parallel to that of his father Nick, dovetailing at the sales. Tristan's sister Ali having also been raised to the game, entering business with her husband Brandon Rice, collectively this is one of the most respected dynasties in the 2-year-old sector. Now Mastromonaco is intent on finding her own niche, finding particular fulfilment in the education of young Thoroughbreds for the racetrack.OBS Sales Pavilion | Christina Bossinakis“The wellbeing of young horses is something I've always prided myself on,” Mastromonaco says. “It's about creating an individual program for each baby: keeping them happy, making sure they have plenty of turnout time, the right feed, a caring crew giving them the best shot at succeeding later in life. I try to align myself with clients that have the same mentality.”But Mastromonaco, whose work alongside Tristan was highlighted by the $1.5 million future champion juvenile Corniche, rejects the idea that sales horses need a radically different program.“I find there's a stigma around that which is not really applicable to the way I train,” she stresses. “My pinhooks and racehorses are very much raised and trained the same way until the last few breezes where they need to separate from their company. I'm not a trainer that tries to drill it into them. I don't think you can make a slow horse fast. To me, sale breeze day is another step forward. They haven't gone that fast three, four, five times before that. I just trust the process, trust that I've put a good enough foundation in them for them to show up and put up their best effort on the day.”In many cases, not least that of My Miss Mo, that faith in the process has prompted the retention of a stake. Apart from anything else, that obviously reassures buyers–but this filly plainly had uncommon claims on Mastromonaco's affections.In a Dream has meanwhile delivered consecutive foals by Flightline. Once again, Mastromonaco felt guilty of impudence in requesting a foal-share. But she had maintained a close working relationship with Cherie DeVaux and David Ingordo over the years, and Ingordo secured the mare access partly on the basis that she is herself by a Lane's End stallion.Brian Graves reports that the Flightline filly purchased as a $285,000 weanling at Keeneland last November is thriving as she prepares for the yearling sales. In a Dream, with a Flightline colt at foot, is meanwhile in foal to Patch Adams.“The whole story I can only attribute to luck,” Mastromonaco says. “This is a life we have to love or we wouldn't survive it. There are too many lows, too many curveballs, to keep going unless it's something we're passionate about. And I certainly do feel passionate, and grateful. I'm in a great place, and feel like I can take it as far as I want to. Life happens and we're moving forward. I still don't know exactly where this journey will lead. But one thing I know for certain: I'll keep dreaming.”The post Her Miss Mo Is Just A Dream appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.