Dornoch established himself as the brand new chief of an ultracompetitive 3-year-old division with an assertive rating within the $1 million Grade 1 NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes July 20 at Monmouth Park.
The end of the Haskell was a close to duplicate of the Belmont Stakes offered by NYRA Bets run six weeks earlier, with front-running Dornoch and Luis Saez holding sway over a closing Mindframe.
Skilled by Danny Gargan, Dornoch ($8.80) accomplished the 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.31 for his second top-level triumph.
Timberlake, making his first begin for the reason that Grade 1 Arkansas Derby in April, ran with Dornoch early earlier than fading to complete third.
In one more ultra-game efficiency by the son of Good Magic, Dornoch led for the primary half-mile solely to be handed by two of his six rivals earlier than he as soon as once more displayed his wonderful coronary heart below jockey Luis Saez and Dornoch by coming proper again and regaining the lead, drawing clear within the stretch to win the Haskell by 1 1/4 lengths to place himself as 2024’s high 3-year-old male.
“Right now was not a straightforward race, however he has an enormous coronary heart,” Saez mentioned.
Dornoch, the lone traditional winner within the subject, was the third selection on the tote board at $3.40-to-1 within the subject of seven 3-year-olds.
“I do not take note of the chances,” mentioned Gargan of Dornoch, a full brother to 2023 Kentucky Derby winner Mage.
Of late, whereas horses have been in a position to go Dornoch, staying in entrance of him has been problematic. Very similar to the Belmont Stakes, the Haskell marked the second straight time Mindframe held the lead over Dornoch within the stretch earlier than Dornoch battled again.
“He finds one thing. He is particular,” Gargan mentioned in regards to the colt. “I am proud as a result of he ran in opposition to a bias. Velocity wasn’t good in the present day and folks have been saying pace tracks have been lifting him up and maintaining him working. Properly, in the present day he did not have the monitor that he preferred, and he nonetheless finds a method to raise himself up and maintaining working. He is a particular, gifted horse.”
In a chaotic 3-year-old male division that has been trying to find a clear-cut chief by means of a Triple Crown season with three completely different traditional winners, the Haskell squarely positioned Dornoch on the high of the pack.
“He is the very best 3-year-old,” mentioned former Main League Baseball participant and Dornoch’s minority proprietor Jason Werth. “He had a foul journey within the Kentucky Derby offered by Woodford Reserve, however we by no means stopped believing in him. He is been discounted and discredited the entire means and I am elated that he is getting the notoriety and credibility he deserves.”
With the Haskell serving as a “Win and You are In” stakes for the Longines Breeders’ Cup Basic, Dornoch earned a free spot within the $7 million Basic, which could possibly be his closing race.
Through the post-race press convention Hill introduced the possession group had a stallion settlement in place and that Dornoch would stand at Spendthrift Farm.
Dornoch’s subsequent begin would be the Grade 1 DraftKings Travers Stakes on Aug. 24 at Saratoga Race Course, the place he might clinch the Eclipse Award because the champion 3-year-old male with a win.
Idiomatic battled again within the stretch to narrowly fend off a powerful bid by Soul of an Angel by a head and seize the $490,000 Grade 3 Molly Pitcher Stakes for older fillies and mares July 20 at Monmouth Park.
Idiomatic was severely examined at 1-9 odds. After setting torpid early fractions of :25.57 and :50.27, a center transfer by jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. on Soul of an Angel put Soul of an Angel on a brief lead late on the ultimate flip and into the stretch. From there, the 2 mares matched strides the remainder of the way in which. It wasn’t till the ultimate yards when Idiomatic ($2.20 to win) and Florent Geroux solid to a slim lead and held sway in a closing time of 1:44.53. Frosty O Toole was 9 1/4 lengths again in third.
“Just a little bit too shut for my liking,” Geroux mentioned after the mile-and-a-sixteenth stakes. “However champions know how one can win races.”
