Who's knocking at the door?
It's a bay colt. He's here with his agent, Conor Foley, and personal trainer, Danny Gargan, and the colt says that you're supposed to interview them.
Is that Dornoch?
Yes, Dornoch has knocked. The door has been answered. He says the password is “Remsen.”
Victory in the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes on Dec. 2 has opened a lot of doors for Dornoch, as well as his connections.
Co-owner Larry Conley, founder of West Paces Racing, said that “getting this colt [before everyone knew the quality of his full brother Mage] is really down to Conor and his team at Oracle Bloodstock. They put us in the right spot to succeed.”
As part-explanation of the reason for their interest in the colt, Foley said, “We have been associated with this family for several years. I was involved in the selection of Puca as a yearling [at Keeneland September in 2013], and she became a stakes winner while racing for Donegal Stable.”
When the mare's first colt, a foal of 2020 by the champion juvenile Good Magic (by Curlin) came to the sales, Foley and his team at Oracle Bloodstock inspected and strongly approved of the result. Foley said, “We vetted Mage and tried to buy him, but the owners who did [at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale] have been tremendous for racing this year.”
Only four months later, however, “I saw the full brother,” Foley said, “and he was such a different horse. He's more like the dam, a little bigger and rangier. The day he sold, Danny and I went to the sale with this one in mind, and I remember jogging to the ring to be ready for this colt.”
Dornoch's trainer noted: “He's a powerful horse with a world of athleticism; the impressive thing is how strongly he finishes his works and how well he gallops out past his work distance.”
A winner of the Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct by the minimum margin wouldn't typically be earning such raves for his accomplishment, but Dornoch made an impression with his effort to win the Remsen. Holding the lead nicely as he turned into the stretch, Dornoch flirted with the rail and allowed Sierra Leone to make a fetching run on the outside to take the lead and appear to be on his way to victory.
Not so. Dornoch switched back to business and made steady progress against his rival to win narrowly on the wire. The top two separated themselves from the third-place colt, Drum Roll Please (Hard Spun), by 4 ¾ lengths.
Bred in Kentucky by Grandview Equine, Dornoch is out of the Big Brown mare Puca, who went through the Keeneland November sale last month. She passed through the ring unsold at $2.8 million, then John Stewart bought her shortly thereafter for $2.9 million in foal to Good Magic (Curlin).
Champion juvenile Good Magic is also the sire of Dornoch and his full brother, 2023 Kentucky Derby winner Mage. The Derby winner has been retired to stud for 2024 and will stand at Airdrie Stud for a fee of $25,000. Their sire stands at Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa for a stud fee of $125,000 live foal, if you can secure a season.
As a first-crop yearling, Mage sold to New Team for $235,000 at the 2021 Keeneland September yearling sale, then resold to OGMA Investments as a 2-year-old at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale for $290,000. Racing for CMNWLTH, OGMA, Sterling Racing, and Ramiro Restrepo, the chestnut colt won two of his seven starts, finished second in the G1 Florida Derby and Haskell, third in the G1 Preakness, and earned $2.5 million.
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If you appreciate our work, you can support us by subscribing to our Patreon stream. Learn more.The year-younger Dornoch sold for $325,000 at the 2022 Keeneland September sale to Oracle Bloodstock, agent, and races for West Paces Racing LLC, R. A. Hill Stable, Belmar Racing and Breeding LLC, Two Eight Racing LLC, and Pine Racing Stables.
Now a winner in two of four starts, Dornoch earned his first black type with a second-place finish in his second start, the Sapling Stakes, then won a maiden special at Keeneland. To win his maiden, Dornoch led at every call and pulled away to win by 6 ½ lengths as the odds-on favorite in the mile and a sixteenth race. To win the Remsen, favored Dornoch led at every pole up to the stretch call, when Sierra Leone was in front, then again when it mattered most.
Conley said, “What a heart, what a competitive spirit. You can't train that, can't buy that.
“For all of us involved with this colt, every week is going to be like Christmas week for the next few months; right now, he's getting some rest, then getting ready for the New Year.”
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