As her young bay colt Damon's Mound came bounding down the stretch at Saratoga Race Course Aug. 13, his trainer, Michelle Lovell, stood, frozen, along the rail in the winner's circle.
She didn't scream or jump up and down or flail her arms like a first-timer at the Spa is apt to do.
Damon's Mound is the first horse Lovell has ever saddled at Saratoga, and, as she watched him do his thing, there was nothing from Lovell on the outside. Inside, that might have been a different story.
Damon's Mound, the 9-5 second choice in the $200,000 Saratoga Special (G2) dominated the 6 1/2-furlong race on the fast Spa track. Ridden by Gabriel Saez, Florida-bred Damon's Mound was a 3 1/4-length winner.
In the process, the son of freshman sire Girvin beat the highly regarded Gulfport from the powerful barn of Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen. Gulfport, a son of Uncle Mo, was the 2-5 favorite, but all he and jockey Joel Rosario could do was chase Damon's Mound home.
"This is incredible," Lovell, whose summer base is at Colonial Downs Racetrack in Virginia. "All props to the horse. He is just awesome. He proved it and he spoke for himself. I could not be happier for the owners."
That would be Texas-based Cliff and Michele Love, who also bred Damon's Mound. Lovell was happy for the Loves because they did not give in to temptation after their horse clobbered a maiden field at Churchill Downs July 2, winning by 12 1/2 lengths.
As soon as that race was over, Lovell's phone was ringing, so were the owners. All of the callers wanted to buy Damon's Mound. All were refused.
"They stayed hooked," Lovell said, "and they got rewarded for it."
The Loves were not at Saratoga to watch their young horse shine on the sport's biggest stage.
In the debut, the only hiccup was a slow start.
Saez said Damon's Mound started "a step slow" in the Saratoga Special and he was more than happy to sit behind his three rivals, who scrimmaged for the lead together. Super Chow and jockey Luis Saez, Gulfport and Joel Rosario, and Valenzan Day and Trevor McCarthy ran as a team on the backstretch.
"The trip was perfect," Lovell said. "I was so happy where we were laying and where we were tracking. Then Gabe could not hold him any longer and he just let him creep up there and make his little move."
"Going around the turn, I knew it was over," Gabriel Saez said.
Damon's Mound followed Gulfport around the far turn and took off while Rosario had to steady his mount. There would be no steward's inquiry and Rosario did not lodge an objection.
Surely, Damon's Mound did nothing wrong. It looked as though Super Chow, who was on the inside, may have caused Rosario to check.
"It looked like we had no room in there," Rosario said. "The horse on the inside (Super Chow) and the outside (Damon's Mound) both came out at the same time and I had to check my horse."
"I was a little worried," Lovell said. "It scared me for (Gulfport). I didn't know if we had anything to do with it."
At the end, Damon's Mound ran the distance in 1:17.94 and paid $5.70. Super Chow finished seven lengths behind Gulfport and Valenzan Day was 11 lengths behind Super Chow.
Lovell, who rode here as a jockey briefly in 1993 when she was known as Michelle Hanley, said Damon's Mound will ship back to Colonial on Sunday.
He could return for the $300,000 Hopeful Stakes (G1) Sept. 5 or wait for the $300,000 Iroquois Stakes (G3) at Churchill Sept 17 or the $600,000 Claiborne Breeders' Futurity (G1) at Keeneland Oct. 8. The Hopeful is seven furlongs, the other two races are 1 1/16 miles.
A return trip to Saratoga would not intimidate Lovell after what her horse did in the Saratoga Special.
"Not at all," she said. "It's awesome to be here. I am not in awe, not intimidated. You can't be intimidated if you are going to be a winner."
