Haskell Stakes (Grade 1)

WHEN your older brother goes down in history as a winner of the Kentucky Derby, a lot will be expected of you.

A year ago, Mage shone brightest on that one day in the Run for the Roses 2023. But his career ended tamely, last behind the eventual top three-year-old colt Arcanelgo less than four months later.

Enter younger brother Dornoch. And he is made of sterner stuff.

The son of Good Magic took top billing among the 2024 classic crop by confirming his Belmont Stakes win over favourite Mindframe in another gritty display to win last Saturday’s Grade 1 Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park.

In the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga, Dornoch held off Mindframe by a half-length in the final jewel of the Triple Crown.

With the two colts meeting again, the favourite was Mindframe. Dornoch wasn’t even the second choice as that went to Timberlake, who had not raced since he finished fourth as the favourite in the March 30th Grade 1 Arkansas Derby.

Will to win

In yet another tough as you like performance, Dornoch led for the first half-mile of the Haskell, only to be passed by two of his six rivals before he once again displayed great will to win by drawing clear in the stretch and taking the $1,005,000 Haskell by a decisive length and a quarter over Mindframe who again flattered but to deceive.

“Nobody passes Dornoch,” co-owner Randy Hill said.

Tonight’s Jim Dandy at Saratoga will further clarify the three-year-old colts’ division with Kentucky Derby second placed and Belmont third Sierra Leone taking on the 2023 top juvenile Fierceness. Dornoch also has a win over Sierra Leone from the Remsen Stakes much earlier in the season.

Breaking from the rail, Dornoch led by a half-length through early fractions to 48.08secs for the half mile with Timberlake and Just Step On It chasing. After six furlongs in 1m12.05secs, Timberlake led but jockey Luis Saez and Dornoch came back and regained the lead.

Next, Mindframe made his move four-wide and seemed poised to sweep past and draw clear.

But drifting out in the straight under jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., Mindframe only led until midstretch when Dornoch surged back along the rail and pulled away to cover the nine furlongs in 1m50.31secs.

There were no excuses for Mindframe, who over the shorter distance, led by a bigger margin at the furlong pole than in the Belmont but lost by a greater margin.

The winner cost $325,000 at Keeneland September yearlings and is owned by West Paces Racing, Hill, Belmar Racing and Breeding, Pine Racing Stables, and the Two Eight Racing of former Major League baseball all-star Jayson Werth, captured on camera roaring his colt home from the stands.

“I’m proud because he ran against a bias. Speed wasn’t good today and people have been saying speed tracks have been lifting him up and keeping him running. Well, today he didn’t have the track that he liked and he still finds a way to lift himself up and keep running. He’s a special, talented horse,” trainer Danny Gargan was quoted afterwards.

Bad trip

“He’s the best three-year-old,” part-owner Werth said. “He had a bad trip in the Kentucky Derby (10th) but we never stopped believing in him. He’s been discounted and discredited the whole way and I’m elated that he’s getting the notoriety and credibility he deserves.”

Dornoch earned a free spot in the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar, which could be his final race as it was announced that the ownership group had a stallion agreement in place for Dornoch to stand at Spendthrift Farm.

Dornoch’s next start will be the August 24th Travers Stakes at Saratoga, where he could clinch the Eclipse Award for the champion three-year-old male.

“This race was five weeks before the Travers, which made the timing perfect. We want to win the Travers. He’s always been special to all of us. He’s probably the leading three-year-old right now and if we can win the Travers that would be three Grade 1 wins for us. He’s such a great horse and we’re blessed just to be part of it,” Gargan said.

Coaching Club American Oaks (Grade 1)

IT was expected to be an easy task and so it proved for the top three-year-old filly Thorpedo Anna, who added the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks to her wins in the Grade 1 Acorn Stakes and Kentucky Oaks.

Quickly recovering following a slow start, Thorpedo Anna and Brian Hernandez, cruised to victory over Candied in the Grade 1 at Saratoga, her fourth in as many starts this year and her third consecutive Grade 1.

Kenny McPeek trains the filly for owners Nader Alaali, Mark Edwards, Judy Hicks, and Magdalena Racing. Hicks also bred the daughter of Fast Anna, sold for $40,000 to McPeek at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale, from the last crop of her sire, who was euthanized in 2021 as a result of laminitis.

“I always knew that she was a very special horse, but she was by a stallion that wasn’t real popular. She was an absolutely gorgeous filly, and when Kenny bought her, I immediately went up to him and said, ‘She was a really special filly, and I almost didn’t sell her. May I stay in for a part?”, Hicks said.

Dominant against her own sex, the big question now is where next for Thorpedo Anna, the Travers Stakes or stay against fillies in the Alabama Stakes.

Her breeder prefers the Grade 1 Alabama but McPeek is known for running fillies against colts, and may be leaning toward the Travers. He won the 2020 Preakness when Swiss Skydiver beat the Kentucky Derby winner Authentic. Todd Pletcher also ran then 2022 top filly Nest against the colts in the Belmont where she came second to Mo Donegal.

“If I run her in the Alabama,” he said, “it’s no fun for anybody. Nobody is going to run against her, and what would she be - 1/2 or less? I like challenges. I’d be sticking my neck out a little bit, but I think the sport could really enjoy seeing a filly take on the colts.

“I watched Dornoch today (winning the Haskell Stakes), and he ran 1:50 and change. There’s not much separation there, at least on time,” McPeek was quoted afterwards.

Smokin all the way

No threat to European turf horses emerged from the Grade 2 United Nations Stakes at Monmouth as the seven-year-old gelding Get Smokin led, railed tightly and just survived a late rail bid by long shot Grand Sonata to win by a nose. In a bunch finish, Tawny Port, hung on for third, a head farther back.

Get Smokin, a seven-year-old Get Stormy gelding, was overcoming a stamina doubt, as the United Nations was a mile and three, though he won the Grade 2 Kentucky Turf Cup Stakes at a mile and a half at Kentucky Downs last year but over an undulating course when left alone on the lead.

Jockey Fernando De La Cruz got Get Smokin to the lead at a steady pace. He held the advantage into the stretch as Javier Castellano got Grand Sonata going. They got on terms with the leader with a powerful rail run but could not get pass, losing in a head-bobbing finish.

“It was a little nerve-wracking,” trainer Mark Casse said. “I thought we got beat. They’re going to stop letting him on the lead.”

Idiomatic forced to fight tough

RACEGOERS were given a fine battle to warm up for the Haskell at Monmouth Park when last year’s Eclipse Award winner Idiomatic emerged best from a stretch battle with Soul Of An Angel to win the Grade 3 Molly Pitcher Stakes.

In a five-runner field, the Juddmonte mare went off at 1/10 but perhaps Florent Geroux did not shine on the daughter of Curlin.

Setting an easy pace, he was caught napping by Irad Ortiz on Soul Of An Angel who made a sweeping move to quickly take the lead before rounding the final bend.

Idiomatic made the ground back up but Soul Of An Angel would not give in and the two battled neck and neck through the final furlong and a half before Idiomatic put her head in front to win by a head on the line.

AMERICA might lack a dominant older dirt horse but Tapit Trice came off the bench in Grade 3 Monmouth Cup to point to better things in the late season.

The colt, third in the Belmont and Travers last season as a three-year-old, Tapit Trice came home a five and a quarter-length winner. There was a winner on the card for Frankie Dettori on the Chad Brown favourite Beaute Cavee who took the Grade 3 WinStar Matchmaker Stakes for females over nine furlongs on the turf.

JORDAN Gainford had a mount in the Grade 1 A P Smithwick Memorial Handicap (Hurdle) at Saratoga on Sunday on L’Imperator for the Archibald Kingsley stable. The pair had won the Grade 1 Beverly R Steinman Hurdle Handicap at Aqueduct earlier this summer but this time had to settle for fourth behind the Graham Watters-ridden Ziggle Pops (only third at Aqueduct). The winner is a British-bred son of Zoffany who raced previously for Richard Hannon.