Charlene’s Dream has been living up to her name for owners Clifton Taylor and Isabel Domeyko, delivering a string of top performances that now includes a victory in the Grade 2 Beverly D. Stakes on Saturday at Colonial Downs.

The 4-year-old daughter of Qurbaan, bred in Texas, has been a bargain find for the Domeyko Taylor LP partnership, which purchased her for $35,000 as a two-year-old at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale in Timonium. Since then, she has compiled an impressive record of six wins from 11 starts and earnings of $642,634.

“This is the first horse we were about 100% on,” Clifton said. “We’ve been partners on horses before, but this is the first one I picked out. She’s won five stakes races now. Ed really liked her. She was a big-bodied horse, and Ed is just a guy that goes on feel and his experience.”

That “Ed” is trainer Ed Moger Jr., whose 50 years of experience and more than 2,000 career wins include Grade 1 victories with Stilleto Boy and Stormy Lucy. Before Charlene’s Dream ever set foot on the track, Moger saw special potential.

“Before she ever ran the first time, I told people she could be the best horse I ever trained,” he said. “I’ve been training for 50 years, and before she ever ran, that’s what I thought.”

Charlene’s Dream probably isn’t quite there yet – there is the matter of winning a Grade 1 event, and the nearly $1.6 million that Stilleto Boy banked – but she’s certainly off to a good start.

In the Beverly D., Charlene’s Dream controlled a moderate pace under jockey Javier Castellano, turned back a strong bid from favored Be Your Best, and inched away to win by 1 ½ lengths in 1:53.74 for 1 3/16 miles on firm turf. The victory marked her second graded stakes score of the year, adding to her win in the Grade 3 Galorette at Pimlico in May.

“She really can finish,” Taylor said. “Even in the races that she hasn’t held on, she still fought every inch of the way. You just gotta love a horse that wants to get their nose across the line.”

With 12 points toward a possible Breeders’ Cup berth, the team is considering their next step.

“Ed’s in charge,” Taylor said. “He’s a great communicator and finds good spots for them. So hopefully… that’s the dream.”

From their base in Lake Tahoe, the owners are dreaming of the sport’s biggest stage — and with Charlene’s Dream, that dream looks closer to reality.

“She can go fast, and she doesn’t get tired,” Moger said. “That’s the way she is. She trains the same way. She’s collected, but at the same time, she’s strong and she can keep on going.”