By Alan Carasso
Donegal Racing's Donegal Momentum (Uncle Mo), who was named a 'TDN Rising Star' for a towering debut victory sprinting over a muddy local main track May 16, remained perfect in two tries since switching to turf routes and earned his first black-type success in Thursday's $135,000 Gio Ponti Stakes at Aqueduct.
Sent off at odds of 22-5 to build on a stalk-and-pounce allowance victory at Saratoga Aug. 24, the $375,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase was given a positive ride away from the gates by Kendrick Carmouche and he looked to be racing aggressively as he laid down fractions of :23.82 and :48.14. With race favorite Take Me To Church traveling well in his slipstream and poised to deliver his challenge when the real running began, Donegal Momentum had a good kick, pinched a break and stayed on nicely to record a comfortable score. Royal Majesty (GB) (Frankel {GB}) rallied inside to just touch Take Me To Church (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) out of second.
“He's absolutely at least as good on the dirt as he is on turf,” said Donegal Racing principal Jerry Donegal, while declining to commit to future objectives. “We'll probably keep entering on turf in big races and hope we get a little precipitation sometimes because not everybody can do what he can from a versatility standpoint.”
Donegal Momentum improved on his 92 debut Beyer, but was upset going a mile over this main track June 27, and was never a true factor in the GII Amsterdam Stakes July 26, finishing a distant fourth. Better than a 5-1 shot for his turf debut last time, he was away awkwardly and was bumped a couple of times late, but managed to get his nose down on the line first.
Speedway Stable purchased Moon Dance for $650,000 at the 2017 OBS April Sale and raced her to a runner-up effort in the 2017 Surfer Girl Stakes at Santa Anita. A daughter of In the Slips, herself a stakes winner and twice graded-placed on the grass, Moon Dash is also represented by the 2-year-old filly Moonlight Dash (Maclean's Music), a $300,000 purchased by Rigney Racing at KEESEP last fall. The mare was bred to Speedway's champion juvenile Corniche (Quality Road) the last two years. Donegal Momentum is the 107th stakes winner for the outstanding Uncle Mo. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
GIO PONTI S., $135,000, Belmont The Big A, 10-3, 3yo, 1mT, 1:35.64, fm.
1–DONEGAL MOMENTUM, 120, c, 3, by Uncle Mo
1st Dam: Moon Dash (SP), by Malibu Moon
2nd Dam: In the Slips, by More Than Ready
3rd Dam: Tjinouska, by Cozzene
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. ($375,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-Donegal Racing; B-Speedway Stable (KY); T-Thomas Morley; J-Kendrick Carmouche. $74,250. Lifetime Record: 5-3-1-0, $216,250.
2–Royal Majesty (GB), 120, c, 3, Frankel (GB)–Crown Queen, by Smart Strike. O/B-Besilu Stables LLC (GB); T-William I Mott. $27,000.
3–Take Me To Church (Ire), 122, c, 3, Churchill (Ire)–Chances Are (Ire), by Dandy Man (Ire). 1ST BLACK-TYPE. (20,000gns RNA Ylg '22 TADEY; €38,000 2yo '23 TATGOR; 52,000gns RNA 2yo '23 TATAHI; £300,000 3yo '24 GOFLO). O-Flurry Racing Stables LLC; B-Magnell Limited (IRE); T-Brad H Cox. $16,200.
Margins: 2, NK, 1 1/4. Odds: 4.40, 4.20, 2.10.
Also Ran: The Process, Vesting (Ire), Piper's Factor, Palm Tree, In a Jam, Full Nelson, Ruddy Buddy. Scratched: Main Beach, Mission North, Silver Satin, Yo Daddy.
DONEGAL MOMENTUM, the 3YO son of @coolmoreamerica stallion Uncle Mo, wins the Gio Ponti Stakes with @KendrickCarmou1 aboard for trainer @morley_racing. pic.twitter.com/hAAoK68n3Q
— NYRA (🌳) (@TheNYRA) October 3, 2024
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