Tag: Danny Gargan

Dornoch Faces Biggest Test Yet in GI Blue Grass

Saturday's GI Blue Grass S. will be Dornoch's big chance to put away any uncertainty surrounding his true talent. The son of Good Magic beat Blue Grass morning-line favorite Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) last December in the GII Remsen S., but his Chad Brown-trained rival only lost by a nose and has since improved his resume with a definitive win in the GII Risen Star while adding blinkers. Meanwhile Dornoch claimed a scratched-down edition of the GII Fountain of Youth, taking the lead early and breaking away from rivals in the stretch only after changing leads late.

Dornoch has put in front-running performances in each of his last three victories with jockey Luis Saez aboard, but trainer Danny Gargan believes it is only because no one has been able to keep up with the speedy sophomore. Gargan said he hopes that Saturday's Derby prep at Keeneland will be an educational opportunity for Dornoch.

“We'll see what happens, but I'm going to tell [Saez] to break running and I think there will be a couple of horses who are going to come out wanting the lead,” Gargan explained. “We'd like to see him a length or half a length behind them and go around following horses so he's not on the lead the whole way.”

Gargan seems to believe that we may even see a different side of Dornoch if he is given the opportunity to stalk.

“He likes to have horses around him,” he said. “We're not taking him back to last or anything crazy, but we'd like to stalk. If he has competition I wouldn't say he runs any different, but he stays more in the bridle, more focused. We just want him to have some competition and to keep him going.”

Dornoch has put in three works at Palm Meadows since his Fountain of Youth score. In his last work on March 30, the colt went four furlongs in :47.25 (1/35).

“He's pretty talented in all his works,” said Gargan. “He's a really good work horse. We worked him a little stronger last time. We wanted to get a strong work in him because the week before, weather occurred and the track wasn't perfect to our liking. So we decided to get a little stronger work in him and we're happy with how he came out of it.”

Dornoch was originally slated to travel north to Keeneland earlier this week, but bad weather pushed back his arrival to Thursday. The colt was able to get a feel for the track that he broke his maiden on last October early on Friday morning.

Dornoch at Keeneland | Sara Gordon

“I think it ended up working well,” said Gargan. “We kept him [at Palm Meadows] where the weather was good and we were able to train. We didn't really want to get involved in the tornados and the storms or be on the highways when it was going to be that bad. So it worked out. He shipped in and looks great and knock on wood, everything is going good. Now we will just relax and hopefully have a fun day.”

Dornoch will break from post four for Saturday's mile and an eighth contest.

The 11-horse Blue Grass will offer Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top five finishers. Both Sierra Leone and 3-1 second choice Dornoch are expected to already have enough qualifying points with 55 and 60 points, respectively.

The Brad Cox duo of Just A Touch (Justify), who was second to Deterministic (Liam's Map) last time out in the GIII Gotham, and Encino (Nyquist), who makes his dirt debut after a win in the John Battaglia Memorial S. at Turfway Park, both look to add to the competition. The Repole Stable-campaigned, Todd Pletcher-trained Be You (Curlin) also comes in off an eye-catching maiden win at Gulfstream Park that earned a 96 Beyer Speed Figure.

Gargan, a native of Lousville, will be searching for his first Grade I win on Saturday in the Blue Grass. He will also be sending out another potential Kentucky Derby-bound son of Good Magic in Society Man for the GII Wood Memorial S.

Ahead of a key stallion-making race, Gargan is hopeful that Dornoch can follow in the footsteps of his older brother, 2023 GI Kentucky Derby winner Mage.

“To be a full-brother to the Kentucky Derby winner, if he could win a Grade I too, that's life changing,” said Gargan. “Winning this race would be spectacular. It'd be great for his resume and for his whole family.”

Speaking of Dornoch's family, his dam Puca (Big Brown) just delivered a full-brother to Mage and Dornoch on the eve of opening day of Keeneland's Spring Meet at John Stewart's Resolute Farm.

“Puca, dam of 2023 Kentucky Derby winner Mage and Dornoch who is on the road to the Kentucky Derby this Saturday at Keeneland in the Blue Grass Stakes, just gave birth to a massive colt by Good Magic,” John Stewart said in a Tweet. “Little bro will be watching.”

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Sierra Leone Installed as 2-1 Morning-Line Favorite for Blue Grass

'TDN Rising Star' Sierra Leone (Gun Runner), winner of the GII Risen Star S. Feb. 17, is the 2-1 morning-line favorite in a field of 11 3-year-olds entered for Saturday's 100th running of the $1-million GI Toyota Blue Grass. Tyler Gaffalione has the mount on Sierra Leone and will exit from post 10.

Dornoch (Good Magic) (post four), a full-brother to GI 2023 Kentucky Derby winner Mage, is the second choice on the morning line at 3-1. Trained by Danny Gargan, Dornoch enters off a front-running victory in the GII Coolmore Fountain of Youth S. at Gulfstream Mar. 2. Dornoch defeated Sierra Leone by a nose in the GII Remsen S.

“That's a good spot,” Gargan said. “He came out of the three hole in the Fountain of Youth and the Remsen. He will come out of there running and make his way through.”

Third choice on the morning line at 7-2 is Just a Touch (Justify), who enters off a runner-up effort in the GIII Gotham S. at Aqueduct Mar. 2. Florent Geroux has the mount from post position 6.

The Toyota Blue Grass offers 200 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby on a 100-50-25-15-10 scale.

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Dornoch Heads to Blue Grass

West Paces Racing, R.A. Hill Stable, Belmar Racing and Breeding, Two Eight Racing and Pine Racing Stables' Dornoch (Good Magic), winner of the Mar. 2 GII Fountain of Youth S. at Gulfstream, is expected to make his next start in Keeneland's GI Blue Grass S. Apr. 6, trainer Danny Gargan told DRF.

“It's been my plan since December. All our owners want to run in the Blue Grass, if he wins it makes him more valuable as a stallion. He won over the track, it's one ship, and three days after the race I'll be at Churchill,” Gargan told DRF.

Runner up in his first two career starts, including last summer's Sapling S., the full-brother to Kentucky Derby winner Mage won his next three starts, including a muddy renewal of the GII Remsen S. at the Big A in December. Second that day was Sierra Leone (Gun Runner), who is also expected to run in Keeneland's Classic prep. Sierra Leone won the GII Risen Star S. at Fair Grounds Feb. 17.

According to Gargan, the colt will breeze once more in Florida before shipping to Lexington.

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Danny Gargan Joins the TDN Writers’ Room

The GII Fountain of Youth S. may have received a few key scratches that diminished the overall quality of the field, but Danny Gargan won't let that take anything away from the victory earned by his trainee Dornoch (Good Magic). As this week's Green Group Guest of the Week on the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland, Gargan recapped Saturday's Fountain of Youth score and made a case for why we still haven't seen the best from Dornoch.

“We've just gotta get someone fast enough to get next to him,” Gargan explained. “If someone will get next to him, you're going to see a fast horse. I mean, he does explode working. But Luis [Saez] was just sitting there playing around. He'll wait on competition because he wants to play. He's a big boy and wants the competition.”

While the goal was originally for Dornoch to get some experience coming from behind horses, the game plan changed after a late scratch from Todd Pletcher trainee Speak Easy (Constitution), who got loose behind the gate. Gargan had to break out his running shoes to get to Saez before the horses started loading.

“Right where the stand is where they do the interviews and they're on TV, I ran down to the track where the horses walk on and Luis was right around that area. We had to have a conversation again, but he knew what we wanted at that stage. He's a pretty smart kid…I had to change our game plan completely because I didn't want to be behind one of those horses and have them get in our way. So we went ahead and decided to just go to the lead.”

The plan was a success as Dornoch, who is a full-brother to last year's GI Kentucky Derby winner Mage, wired a field of five and earned 50 points on the road to the Kentucky Derby. Gargan has said that he is considering either the GI Florida Derby or the GI Blue Grass S. for the colt's next start. On the show, he reported that he's leaning toward the Blue Grass, but should have a final decision at some point later next week.

Until then, he plans to soak up the experience of the Derby trail. A native of Louisville, Gargan has been to the Kentucky Derby once before in 2019 with Tax (Arch), who finished fourteenth, but this time around he said his outlook is a bit different.

“We're just going to enjoy where we're at right now,” Gargan said. “We're lucky enough that we didn't have to run that hard to get the points. We're already probably in the race. I believe we have a horse that, if we get him in the gate on the first Saturday in May, he'd have a chance to win it. So it's a totally different ballpark and it's a fun thing to be a part of. Hopefully we get lucky and we're there.”

Elsewhere on the podcast, which is sponsored by Coolmore's Epicenter, WinStar Farm's Global Campaign, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, 1/ST Racing, West Point Thoroughbreds and XBTV.com, the team of Randy Moss, Zoe Cadman and T.D. Thornton reviewed all the major Kentucky Derby and Oaks prep races from coast to coast and questioned the implications the many scratches might have had on the weekend's results. They also took a look at the new Tapeta track at Santa Anita, as well as the announcement of 1/ST's new racing series and the GI Preakness S. purse increase.

Click here to watch the show.

Click here for the audio-only version.

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