By Christina Bossinakis
Six weeks removed from his biggest win in his career win in the GI Belmont Stakes, Dornoch (Godo Magic) did what many thought he surely wouldn't be able to repeat. But it seems nobody told him, nor the colt's connections for that matter.
During Wednesday's draw for the GI NYRABets Haskell Stakes, trainer Danny Gargan made it pretty clear that he was not really enthused with his Classic-winning colt drawing Post 1. The trainer probably had a flashback to this season's Kentucky Derby, where Dornoch drew the dreaded rail and ran accordingly in 10th. But the Haskell is not the Derby, and drawing the rail in the Haskell likely arguably proved to be a stroke of luck given 10 prior winners have come out of that position, making it the most prolific winning position in the gate.
Following a textbook beginning, Dornoch easily strode to the front as 4-5 choice Mindframe (Constitution) bobbled slightly at the start and was allowed to settle in a stalking position approaching the initial turn. Following a :23.32 quarter, Dornoch continued to show the way with GI Champagne Stakes winner Timberlake (Into Mischief), Just Step On It (Accelerate) and a rail-hugging Mindframe in close pursuit. Timberlake continued to press the issue following a :48.08 half and Midnframe was only three lengths behind, but seemed to be moving comfortably under Irad Ortiz Jr. Finding a seam three-wide exiting the far turn, Mindframe burst on the scene and appeared poised to inhale the front-running Dornoch leaving the quarter pole. Momentarily overtaking the pacesetter, Mindframe floated out several paths wide into the lane while his main challenger cut the corner like a knife. Running down the stretch in what appeared to be more like a race at Royal Ascot–with the field splitting in two–rather than at Monmouth Park, the colts battled down the stretch and despite his best effort to turn the table on Dornoch, Mindframe had to play the bridesmaid yet again, 1 1/4 lengths adrift of the winner. Timberlake was a distant third, while Just Step on It rounded out the superfecta. Spendthrift Farm's Tuscan Sky (Vino Rosso), the 5-1 fourth betting choice, finished sixth after early trouble. The Haskell is a 'Win and You're In' event to the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar this fall.
“Today was not an easy race but he has a big heart,” said winning rider Luis Saez, who previously won the Haskell in 2019 with Maximum Security. “He always breaks from there and wants to be on the engine. The plan was to break good from there and put him in the race. He did it. He showed up today. Mindframe was coming at him and we knew he was the horse to beat, but we got the victory.”
He continued, “He's a special horse. He was pretty comfortable out there. He's a really good horse who always shows a lot of guts and a big heart. He was traveling pretty comfortably. At the three-eighths when everyone was coming at him he re-broke again. He responded. He just wanted to get there first.”
And despite his skepticism about drawing the rail, Gargan admitted it ultimately worked to his colt's advantage.
“I was playing a little cat and mouse,” he said. “Mindframe went off the favorite and he's a really good horse. But as trainers we play games. Luis rode a smart race tactically. It's a speed bias track normally but I was a little nervous speed wasn't holding that well [today]. To go :48 on this track when the rest of the card they were going in :50 earlier, he showed a lot of heart. You can't take anything away from him after this.”
Dornoch is campaigned by a group united largely through the efforts of Gargan. The team is comprised of Larry Connolly and Keith Mason's West Paces Racing, Randy Hill's R. A. Stable, Vito Cucci's Belmar Racing and former MLB All-Star and 2008 World Series champion Jayson Werth.
“It's just incredible,” said Cucci, a New Jersey resident who owns Nanina's in the Park in Bellville, New Jersey. “I've been coming [to Monmouth Park] since I was 12 or 13 years old. We would take the bus to downtown Newark and the train would drop you off right behind the stable area. We went to see Dornoch [Friday] and went across the same train tracks. To come back to this is just unbelievable.”
Also on-hand for the colt's Belmont score, Werth was back on the winning scene Saturday afternoon.
“Danny and his staff do such a great job with the horse,” he said. “He's such a special animal. We call him big puppy. He's a part of the family. This is the first colt I bought. It's such a great journey. The horse is the show. The horse is the athlete. He's an amazing creature.”
Clearly disappointed with the Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable runner's latest defeat, trainer Todd Pletcher said, “I thought he was traveling really well, and at the top of the stretch, I thought he was in a position to put away the race. I thought he got a little bit lost when he put his head in front. He kind of got to wandering around a little bit again. He was pretty far away from the eventual winner so maybe thinking about making some changes.”
As for Tuscan Sky, he added, “He didn't get away very well and Javier [Castellano] said as soon as the dirt hit him, it was over. He never really recovered.”
Looking ahead, Gargan seemed eager to face the best of the 3-year-old division in the Aug. 24 GI Travers Stakes.
“This race was five weeks before the Travers, which made the timing perfect,” said Gargan. “We want to win the Travers. He's always been special to all of us. He's probably the leading 3-year-old right now and if we can win the Travers that would be three Grade I wins for us. He's such a great horse and we're blessed just to be part of it.”
Runner-up in his first two career starts, including Monmouth's Sapling Stakes, Dornoch broke through with a 6 1/2-length score at Keeneland in October before annexing the GII Remsen Stakes. Off the bench, he took the GII Fountain of Youth Stakes before coming home fourth in the GI Blue Grass Stakes. Settling for 10th in the May 4 Run for the Roses, he rebounded to win at generous odds of 17-1 in the Belmont Stakes, run for the first time at Saratoga.
With two wins at the highest level now solidly under his belt, the flashy colt with the flashy pedigree is the belle of the ball. And of course, he has suitors. During Saturday's post-race conference, Randy Hill announced that Dornoch would stand at Spendthrift Farm at the conclusion of his racing career.
“It's been in the works since right after the Belmont,” confirmed Hill, a financial industry executive. “I also have Vekoma with Spendthrift and I think they are a class operation. They have run 212 mares to Vekoma two years in a row. He's off to a fast start for a freshman sire.
Hill and Mike Gatsas of Gatsas Stables campaigned Vekoma (Candy Ride {Arg}) in partnership. Trained by George Weaver, the chestnut won six of eight career starts, including the GI Met Mile and GI Carter Handicap, before retiring with $1.2 million in earnings. Vekoma currently ranks second among leading freshman sires with over $500,000 in earnings.
“They are great to deal with. They were the first people I called and we made a deal pretty easily,” the New Jersey native said.
When asked about the move to solicit a farm to stand the colt following his retirement, Hill said with a chuckle. “You know what they say, you're the shiny penny. And he really was after his Belmont win. The timing was just right.”
Pedigree Notes:
Dornoch holds a strong connection to the Haskell. His sire, Good Magic, won the nine-furlong mid-summer test, earning himself the distinction of becoming the fifth Haskell winner to sire a winner of Monmouth's marquee race for 3-year-olds. Additionally, Dornoch's full-brother Mage, winner of the 2023 Kentucky Derby, finished in last year's renewal of the race.
The Classic-winning colts share the dam Puca, a TDN Rising Star who subsequently brought $2.9 million from John Stewart's Resolute Racing, who was a post-sale out of the Case Clay consignment at Keeneland November. She produced a full-brother to Mage and Dornoch for Stewart Apr. 4. Both Mage and Dornoch, a $325,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase, were bred by Robert Clay's Grandview Equine, who originally purchased the half-sister to GISW Finnegan's Wake for $475,000 at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November sale. Including her first foal, Gunning (Gun Runner), Puca has three stakes performers from the same number of starters.
Belmont Stakes winner #1 DORNOCH ($8.80) and runner-up Mindframe fight down the stretch in the $1 million Haskell Stakes (G1), but Dornoch refused to be beaten!
The three-year-old colt by Good Magic was piloted by @luissaezpty for trainer @GarganRacing. pic.twitter.com/lXRHRyQp3c
— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) July 20, 2024
Saturday, Monmouth Park
NYRA BETS HASKELL S.-GI, $1,005,000, Monmouth, 7-20, 3yo, 1 1/8m, 1:50.31, ft.
1–DORNOCH, 122, c, 3, by Good Magic
1st Dam: Puca (SW & GSP, $299,406), by Big Brown
2nd Dam: Boat's Ghost, by Silver Ghost
3rd Dam: Rocktheboat, by Summer Squall
($325,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-West Paces Racing LLC, R. A. Hill Stable, Belmar Racing and Breeding, LLC, Two Eight Racing, LLC and Pine Racing Stables; B-Grandview Equine (KY); T-Danny Gargan; J-Luis Saez. $600,000. Lifetime Record: 9-5-2-0, $2,352,275. *Full to Mage, GISW, $2,507,450; 1/2 to Gunning (Gun Runner), MSP, $278,835. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Mindframe, 119, c, 3, Constitution–Walk of Stars, by Street Sense. 'TDN Rising Star'. ($600,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables LLC; B-R. Larry Johnson (MD); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $200,000.
3–Timberlake, 119, c, 3, Into Mischief–Pin Up (Ire), by Lookin At Lucky. ($350,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). 'TDN Rising Star'. O-Siena Farm LLC and WinStar Farm LLC; B-St. Elias Stables, LLC (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. $100,000.
Margins: 1 1/4, 5, 2HF. Odds: 3.40, 0.80, 3.30.
Also Ran: Just Step On It, Sea Streak, Tuscan Sky, Jasper's Pride. Scratched: Fierceness.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
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