After trainer Danny Gargan declared 2-year-old colt Dornoch the greatest horse he has ever trained earlier this summer, the talented son of Good Magic helped to confirm that assessment Saturday when battling back strongly in the stretch to capture the Remsen (G2) by a nose at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Owned by West Paces Racing, R.A. Hill Stable, Belmar Racing and Breeding, Two Eight Racing, and Pine Racing Stables, Dornoch led through swift splits of :23.09, :46.97 and 1:11.56 through six furlongs and appeared defeated a furlong from the finish when he bumped the rail before the Chad Brown-trained Sierra Leone swept past him to take the advantage. But Dornoch showed true heart along the inside and refused to lose the 1 1/8-mile test for juveniles, digging in under Luis Saez to stick his nose back in front and cross the wire first in a final time of 1:50.30.
“It's crazy. Usually when a horse hits the rail at the eighth pole like he did, they just stop running altogether,” said Gargan. “I can't believe he re-rallied after that. He did see the other horse and get running back at him, but hitting the rail knocked him off stride and then it took him a few jumps to get back going. I think if he doesn't hit the rail, he stays in front. I've never seen a horse get passed a length and then come back and win. It was a really good race.”
Dornoch, a full-brother to this year's Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Mage, earned the first stakes win of his career on the heels of a dominant third-out graduation when taking a 1 1/16-mile maiden by 6 1/2 lengths on October 14 at Keeneland. He had previously finished a hard-trying second in the one-mile Sapling in August at Monmouth Park and in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden in July at Saratoga Race Course.
For his Remsen victory, Dornoch earned the maximum allotment of the 10-5-3-2-1 Kentucky Derby qualifying points available to the top-five finishers, respectively. With his name now on the list of top Derby prospects, Dornoch has his connections dreaming of the First Saturday in May.
“When you've got a horse like this, you can run second in a big prep and he's in,” said Gargan. “We just have to plan out the right arrangement to get him there.”
Gargan said one key to getting Dornoch into the Derby starting gate will be maturity.
“We need him to focus running. He kind of looks around playing a little bit, and that's why he hit the rail,” said Gargan. “He's got to grow up a lot, and he's still out there goofing off. He did dig in in this race in the end, but he kind of put himself in that situation running green early. I think if another horse is around him, he won't lose focus. What we'll probably do next time is bring him off the pace which he can do. He'll finish in the lane, so he'll get a little more out of the race and mature a little bit from it.”
Dornoch will now likely get a freshening in preparation for his sophomore campaign with potential targets including the Withers (G3) at Aqueduct or the Fountain of Youth (G2) on March 2 at Gulfstream Park, according to Gargan.
“We'll take him down to Palm Meadows and keep him with us. He'll tack walk for two or three weeks and then we'll figure it out from there,” said Gargan. “We'll probably see him around the Fountain of Youth. The Withers is always something you could win real easy if you wanted to win a race, it just depends who's where.”
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