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Dakota Gold Dazzles In Nownownow At Monmouth

Trainer Danny Gargan probably won't need to do any more convincing with owner Dean Reeves about sending Dakota Gold to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Nov. 5 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

The horse stated his case emphatically on Sunday at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J.

Dakota Gold, a New York-bred son of Freud, turned in an eye-catching performance on closing day at Monmouth Park, capturing the $500,000 Nownownow Stakes for 2-year-olds by 2½ lengths.

Ridden by Isaac Castillo, Dakota Gold stormed from off the pace in the one-mile grass feature, flashing under the wire in 1:36.31 over a turf course labeled “good” to improve to 2-for-2 lifetime.

After winning his debut at 5½ furlongs in an off-the-turf Maiden Special Weight race at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., by 4½ lengths on Sept. 2, Dakota Gold showed why Gargan was so eager to get him on the grass.

“I just couldn't wait to get him on the grass,” said Gargan. “We knew he had this kind of turn of foot on the grass. There was some pace in the race and he just flew by. When the jockey asked him he just galloped by. It was pretty impressive. You get lucky and get a horse like this once in a while. I think this horse has as much talent as any younger horse I've ever had.”

Dakota Gold, owned by Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, will likely get a chance to show off that talent next in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf on Nov. 5 at Del Mar, said Gargan.

“There was a New York-bred race today at Belmont at seventh-eighths on the dirt,” said Gargan. “Dean and I discussed it and I really wanted to run here. I'm just glad I got the opportunity to do it and Dean gave me a chance.

“I told him if we win this we can go to the Breeders' Cup, so I think Dean is going to let me going to the Breeders' Cup.”

For the 23-year-old Castillo, this was the signature victory of his young career.

“This is the biggest win of my career, the biggest purse I have ever won,” he said. “It's incredible. It feels great. This is a fantastic horse, a championship-type horse.”

Sent off at 5-1 in the field of nine, Dakota Gold was back in the pack as There Are No Words and Grooms All Bizness set early fractions of :21.41 and :45.56 to the half, at which point Dakota Gold was sixth. Castillo swung Dakota Gold wide coming out of the turn and he simply breezed past the field, with Royal Spirit rallying for second. It was another six lengths back to 4-5 favorite Coinage in third.

In the $100,000 Smoke Glacken Stakes that served as the supporting feature, New Jersey-bred Speaking dazzled a field of open company 2-year-olds with a 3¼-length victory.

Trained by Eddie Owens, Jr. and ridden by Gerardo Corrales, Speaking turned in a sharp winning time of 1:10.12 for the six furlongs. Forty Stripes was second, 2¼ lengths ahead of Practical Coach in third.

“He doesn't know he's a Jersey-bred – and we're not going to tell him, either,” said Owens. “He showed us a lot of potential in the mornings so we have had high expectations for him. His first race he did everything professionally (winning by 6¼ lengths) so we knew he was going to be a very nice horse.

“Today, he was eye-popping. Very nice. I don't know what we have in store for him yet. We made no long-term plans. We'd like to get him to try two turns. But we're taking it race by race right now. We'll see what we find for him next. Wherever we go next I love the way he ran today. He showed us a lot. He did it with ease.”

Speaking, a Holly Crest Farm homebred, returned $3.60 to win as the favorite in the field of eight. The recently-gelded son of Mr Speaker is now 2-for-2 lifetime.

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Freud Colt Wows in Nownownow

Dakota Gold took to turf and two turns to score an impressive victory in this lucrative event. The chestnut was a 4 1/2-length debut graduate in an open rained-off sprint at Saratoga Sept. 2, for which he earned a solid 82 Beyer Speed Figure. In receipt of first-time Lasix, Dakota Gold found a stalking position early just behind and outside of odds-on GIII With Anticipation S. scorer Coinage. He settled nicely down the backside behind a :45.56 half mile, and was asked to quicken after six furlongs in 1:10.82. He powered to the front in upper stretch while still figuring out his lead changes, and kicked home from there with bounding strides to defeat pricey maiden Royal Spirit by daylight.

“This is the biggest win of my career, the biggest purse I have ever won. It's incredible. It feels great,” said 23-year-old winning rider Isaac Castillo, who was second in the Monmouth jockey standings heading into Sunday's card. “This is a fantastic horse, a championship-type horse. He was very comfortable on the grass. I was a bit outside early, but he was galloping on his own and very relaxed. When I asked him he just took off. He seems like he can be a very special horse.”

Conditioner Danny Gargan offered, “I thought he was even better on the grass than he was in his first start on the dirt and that race was very impressive. When that race came off we still ran him because he had some good works on the dirt and he ran tremendous that day. I always wanted to run him longer on the grass and today, you put your neck out on the line, and it worked out. There was a New York-bred race today at Belmont at seventh-eighths on the dirt. [Owner] Dean [Reeves] and I discussed it and I really wanted to run here. I'm just glad I got the opportunity to do it and Dean gave me a chance. I told him if we win this we can go to the Breeders' Cup, so I think Dean is going to let me going to the Breeders' Cup. I just couldn't wait to get him on the grass. We knew he had this kind of turn of foot on the grass. There was some pace in the race and he just flew by. When the jockey asked him he just galloped by. It was pretty impressive. You get lucky and get a horse like this once in a while. I think this horse has as much talent as any younger horse I've ever had.”

The 70th stakes winner for New York-based stalwart Freud, Dakota Gold has a yearling half-brother by Redesdale and a foal half-brother by the Reeves' Mucho Macho Man. His dam is a half to 2010 GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile upsetter Dakota Phona (Zavata).

NOWNOWNOW S., $500,000, Monmouth, 9-26, 2yo, 1mT, 1:36.31, gd.
1–DAKOTA GOLD, 117, c, 2, by Freud
                1st Dam: Dakota Kid, by Lemon Drop Kid
                2nd Dam: World of Gold, by Spinning World
                3rd Dam: Explore the Gold, by Fast Gold
($83,000 Wlg '19 FTNMIX). 1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. O-Reeves
Thoroughbred Racing; B-Sequel Thoroughbreds & Ron Bowden
(NY); T-Danny Gargan; J-Isaac Castillo. $300,000. Lifetime
Record: 2-2-0-0, $355,000.
2–Royal Spirit, 116, c, 2, Into Mischief–Don'tforgetaboutme, by
Malibu Moon. ($450,000 Ylg '20 FTKSEL). O-Repole Stable & St.
Elias Stable; B-Claiborne Farm (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher.
$100,000.
3–Coinage, 121, c, 2, Tapit–Bar of Gold, by Medaglia d'Oro.
($450,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-D. J. Stable LLC & Chester
& Mary Broman; B-Chester & Mary R. Broman (NY); T-Mark E.
Casse. $50,000.
Margins: 2HF, 6, 1. Odds: 5.00, 6.30, 0.80.
Also Ran: Shimmering Leroid, There Are No Words, Grooms All Bizness, Midnight Chrome, Sweeping Giant, Pure Panic. Scratched: City At Night. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

The post Freud Colt Wows in Nownownow appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Gargan Using Monmouth’s Nownownow As Breeders’ Cup Prep For Dakota Gold

Trainer Danny Gargan doesn't ship very often to Monmouth Park, but when he does it's with a purpose. The primary purpose this weekend is to see if Dakota Gold is Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf worthy.

An impressive first-out winner at Saratoga on Sept. 2, the New York-bred Dakota Gold will make his second career start in Sunday's $500,000 Nownownow Stakes, scheduled for one mile on the turf on the closing day of the 55-day meet.

The purse for the Nownownow Stakes was increased from $150,000 to $500,000 in an effort to entice 2-year-olds to use the race as a final stepping stone to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile on Nov. 5 at Del Mar.

“If he can run first or second this race the sky is the limit as to where he goes next,” said Gargan. “I think it's a great idea to make this race this big and with the timing of it (40 days before the Breeders' Cup Juvenile).

“If you're first or second in this race that would probably give you the earnings you need to get into the Breeders' Cup.”

Dakota Gold, a son of Freud-Dakota Kid by Lemon Drop Kid, was impressive in his debut, winning at 5½ furlongs in Maiden Special Weight company by 4½ lengths in a race that was taken off the turf.

“We trained him on the grass, so that's where we were looking to get him started,” said Gargan. “He's a nice quality colt. Just a beautiful animal. We ran him against open company the first time because the timing was right and we wanted to get a race in him. We had him ready.

“When it came off the turf we knew he had also worked well on the dirt so we were fine with it. Sunday he will run either way (on or off the grass).”

Dakota Gold is owned by Reeves Thoroughbred Racing (Dean and Patti Reeves), which was also a part-owner of Tax, the gelding who won the 2019 Jim Dandy for Gargan and also gave the Louisville, Ky., native his first Kentucky Derby starter that year.

“If Dakota Gold runs first or second I'd be hard-pressed not to go to the Breeders' Cup,” said Gargan. “Dean Reeves and I have been in the Kentucky Derby together. We've run in some big races together. He will take a chance in a big race.

“If this horse runs first or second on Sunday he would have to talk me out of going to the Breeders' Cup because I think the firm turf in California would suit my horse too.”

Gargan's potentially-lucrative Monmouth Park weekend will actually start on Saturday, when he sends out Ice Princess in the $100,000 Violet Stakes, the feature race on a 14-race card.

Scheduled for a mile and a sixteenth on the turf, the Violet Stakes may fall victim to rain that is expected to hit the area on Friday. That's fine with Gargan, since Ice Princess cruised to a four-length win in the slop at Saratoga in allowance company in her last start on Aug. 19.

“If it comes off she is going to run,” said Gargan. “I think she will turf but we're trying to handicap and taking an edge. If it comes off she would be a big favorite.”

A 4-year-old daughter of Palace Malice-Happy Clapper by Awesome Again, Ice Princess was a respectable fourth in her only career turf try on June 17 at Belmont Park. She shows a 4-4-1 line from 13 career starts with lifetime earnings of $308,019.

Six other fillies and mares, three and up, are scheduled to oppose her.

“She's a lightly-race filly. We don't run her a lot,” said Gargan. “She is actually super sound. It's not about soundness. It's more about her body weight and it getting a little too low sometimes.

“She's a pretty cool filly. I think next year will be her best year because she is starting to grow into herself.”

First race post time for Friday, Saturday and Sunday – the final three days of the Monmouth Park meet – is 12:15 p.m.

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