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| Staff Writer |
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There are moments when horse racing can turn improbable dreams into reality. Trainer Danny Gargan, the son of a jockey who rode Pvt Smiles in the Gr.1 Belmont Stakes 1973, against Secretariat, grew up in th e racing industry. He worked for Nick Zito and started training regularly in 2013.
After 11 years, Gargan finally experienced the thrill of success when his horse, Dornoch, won the US$2 million Belmont Stakes held at Saratoga Race Course, holding off a late bid by Mindframe by a half-length in a thrilling race.
"You never think you're going to be a kid from the south end of Louisville who wins this kind of race," Gargan said. "Anybody who can win a Triple Crown race from where I grew up has to work their whole life to do it."
On June 8th, the ownership group of West Paces Racing, Randy Hill's R. A. Hill Stable, Belmar Racing and Breeding, Pine Racing Stables, and Two Eight Racing, which includes former Major League Baseball All-Star and World Series champion Jayson Werth, added their names to the list of classic winners.
"I'll put it up there with anything I've ever done," Werth said.
"Horse racing is the most underrated sport there is. This is as big as it gets. It's the same emotions you feel when you play a playoff game, when you win a World Series game and arguably when you win a World Series. We got to get more retired athletes in this game. Danny, what's your phone number?" he added.
For Hill, who has been involved in owning around 300 horses over the past 25 years, this victory represents the fulfillment of a long-held ambition to be part of a classic win.
"This is a win for the little guys. We know all the big guys who have the money, the 100, 200, 300 horses. Danny doesn't have that. I don't have that. Jayson certainly doesn't have that. He has one colt," Hill said, "This is one for us. One for the little boys."
It was a remarkable day for Grandview Equine, the breeder of Dornoch, and their former mare, Puca.
Puca, the dam of a Belmont Stakes winner, also saw Dornoch's older full brother, Mage, by Good Magic, win the Gr.1 Kentucky Derby last year. This makes Puca the ninth mare to produce a pair of American classic winners.
Additionally, the New York Racing Association's decision to move the Belmont to the Spa while Belmont Park is under construction proved to be a significant success.
Saratoga was filled with enthusiastic fans, with attendance capped at 50,000 and the all-sources handle totaling US$125,748,941, an increase of over 6.3% compared to the previous non-Triple Crown record of US$118.2 million from the previous year.
"You're at Saratoga. You're at the Belmont Stakes. It's electrifying," Hill said. "What a great idea by NYRA to bring the race up here. There's no place like Saratoga. No owner wants to win at a place more than Saratoga."
After overcoming his disappointing performances in his last two races, Dornoch emerged victorious in the 156th Belmont Stakes.
Last year, he narrowly won the Gr. 2 Remsen Stakes by a nose over Sierra Leone, who finished third. This victory established him as a top Triple Crown prospect. His 3YO campaign started strong with a win in the Gr. 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes. However, a tactical decision to rate him in the Gr.1 Blue Grass Stakes didn't yield the expected results, and he finished fourth.
Then in the Kentucky Derby, he drew the rail and ran into early trouble, never recovering and finishing 10th.
Given five weeks off after the Run for the Roses by Gargan, Dornoch returned to top form at a highly opportune time.
"This horse got no respect," Hill said. "I said, 'Let's run our race today. Let's get the lead and if anyone can beat us, let them come get us.
"When he won the Remsen, I knew we would win a big one like this. I never lost faith in him."
The Belmont stakes, contested at 1 1/4 miles at the Spa instead of 1 1/2 miles at Belmont Park, had the Gr.1 Preakness Stakes winner Seize the Grey taking the early lead, hoping to replicate his front-running win at Pimlico Race Course.
Trained by 88-year-old D Wayne Lukas, the son of Arrogate set the pace for the first six furlongs with quick fractions of 0:22.99, 0:47.25, and 1:10.67.
However, Dornoch and jockey Luis Saez, who had been second throughout, surged to the lead around the quarter pole. Dornoch then pulled away turning for home as Seize the Grey dropped back to finish seventh in the field of 10.
Mindframe, an inexperienced contender, and Sierra Leone, who narrowly missed winning the Kentucky Derby, emerged as strong challengers from the rear of the field.
Mindframe, making just his third career start, tracked in third most of the way after breaking from the outside. Sierra Leone stumbled at the start, rallied from the back, and began cutting into the lead.
While watching from the owners' boxes, Hill never doubted his colt, even as the lead became narrower.
"When he turned for home, no one was running him down," he said. "I would have bet a million dollars on him. He would not let them run him down. He has a heart as big as Secretariat."
After Mindframe and jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. took a slight lead at the eighth pole, the Maryland-bred son of Constitution drifted out and lost momentum at the worst possible time.
Dornoch and Saez battled back and edged clear to cross the wire in 2:01.64, capping a sixth straight year in which three different horses won the three legs of the Triple Crown.
"I got really excited. It's probably on video," Gargan said about his reaction to his first classic and Gr. 1 victory. "It's really funny. I might have said a few things that need to be bleeped."
Todd Pletcher, who trains Mindframe as well as Antiquarian (fifth) and Protective (sixth), mentioned that the runner-up's lack of experience affected him during the stretch.
"I thought he ran super. He just ran a little green in the stretch. Irad said he drifted out a bit and lost focus for a moment. I think the inexperience cost him," Pletcher said.
"It was just his third start. First time this distance. All the things we were worried about. If he had run a straight course in the lane it might have made the difference."
Owner Mike Repole expressed no regrets about running Mindframe in the Belmont.
"He ran incredible," Repole said, "A lot of people thought we were crazy to attempt this. For a third start, I thought it was pretty special. A little wide, a little green, very special."