Dornoch may be a 15-1 Belmont Stakes (G1) longshot in the eyes of everyone, except trainer Danny Gargan.
While the son of Good Magic is entering the June 8 $2 million final leg of the Triple Crown at Saratoga Race Course off a pair of sub-par efforts, Gargan has a pair of legitimate excuses to counter any adverse opinions.
Two starts back, Gargan decided to rate the full brother to 2023 Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Mage in the Blue Grass Stakes (G1), but the plan did not work out according to plan as the speedy 3-year-old never fired and finished a lackluster fourth, winding up 6 1/2 lengths in back of Sierra Leone .
Then in the Kentucky Derby, Dornoch drew the dreaded rail, and you can pretty much guess how that went.
Shuffled back and checked hard in the early going, Dornoch was unable to flash his early speed and was 13th in the early stages en route to a 10th-place finish, 18 lengths behind Mystik Dan .
"Coming out of the one hole (in the Kentucky Derby) is impossible. He broke a step slow and (Mystik Dan's jockey) Brian Hernandez (Jr.) shut the door quick on him. Brian rode a great race," Gargan said. "We're just throwing the Derby out and going to the next race. He didn't run badly in the Blue Grass and we purposely rated him that day."
Since the May 4 Run for the Roses, Dornoch has been training in solid fashion at Saratoga, giving Gargan confidence that he will see the Dornoch who won the Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) in March and defeated Belmont Stakes morning-line favorite and Kentucky Derby runner-up Sierra Leone last year in the Remsen Stakes (G2).
"He's doing good. I just hope we break good, get a good position, and get a clean trip so he can show what he can do. He's never run a bad race when he was able to get into the race and run a clean race," Gargan said.
Dornoch, who will break from post 6 in the field of 10, figures to be part of the early pace, with Gargan hoping that he can sit second, just off the leader.
"I think (Seize the Grey) has to go from the rail," Gargan said about the front-running Preakness Stakes (G1) winner, "because that's what you have to do from the rail. I'm curious to see what (trainer) Todd Pletcher does with (Mindframe) who is stretching out. He'll probably sit third or fourth. I think he'll sit in third, with us in second and if we don't go too fast, hopefully one of the three of us can win the race."
Dornoch, bred by Grandview Equine, is owned by West Paces Racing, R. A. Hill Stable, Belmar Racing and Breeding, Pine Racing Stables, and the Two Eight Racing of former Major League Baseball all-star Jayson Werth.
He was bought for $325,000 from the Runnymede Farm consignment at the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, prior to his big brother's classic win. Out of the Big Brown mare Puca, he has a record of three wins and two seconds in seven starts. The grade 2 winner has earned $552,275.
Brown Hoping to Win a Home Game in Belmont Stakes
When Chad Brown started training in 2007, he had the usual items on his bucket list. Triple Crown and Breeders' Cup wins. An Eclipse Award. A Saratoga Race Course trainer's title.
He's already checked off all of those boxes in a career on the right path toward inclusion in the Hall of Fame. Yet there's one item he could not have anticipated 17 years ago that now owns a prime spot on his to-do list.
With last year's announcement that Belmont Park would be closed until the track is rebuilt and reopened in 2026 at the earliest, all of a sudden an impossible dream became possible.
Growing up not far from Saratoga in Mechanicville, N.Y., Brown would covet winning the historic first Belmont Stakes (G1) at the Spa in front of locally based family and friends.
And in 9-5 morning-line favorite Sierra Leone, he just might have the $2.3 million 3-year-old who can make his dreams come true.
"It's exciting for me and everyone with my team and family. We're personally involved in the community here in Saratoga, being a resident up here. It's an interesting experiment having the Belmont up here," Brown said. "To win the first Belmont at Saratoga not far away from where I grew up, it would be a real special moment for me and my family and team. We have a base of operations here and we always focus on the Saratoga meet. Potentially it would be a great moment but it will be a challenging race. There are some good horses in this race. Yet It will be very special to get our first Belmont win in Saratoga, given all the time we spend here."
Success at Saratoga has been a main cog of Brown's stable as he has won or shared six of the last seven trainer's titles at the Spa and captured seven titles overall.
Tuscan Gold to get time off
Though Tuscan Gold was considered a possible starter in the Belmont Stakes, Brown said the son of Medaglia d'Oro did not train well leading up to the race and was not entered.
He added Tuscan Gold would receive a thorough medical check before any future plans would be discussed. Third in the Louisiana Derby (G2) and fourth in the Preakness Stakes (G1), Tuscan Gold is owned by William Lawrence, Walmac Farm, and Stonestreet Stables.
McPeek Surprised to Find Mystik Dan Third in Morning Line
Ken McPeek trains Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan.
The same 3-year-old son of Goldencents who was second in the Preakness and sits atop the current National Thoroughbred Racing Association Top 10 3-Year-Old poll.
So when the morning line was announced for the June 8 Belmont Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course, McPeek was a bit surprised when his colt was installed as the third choice at 5-1 behind the Chad Brown-trained Sierra Leone (9-5), who finished a nose behind Mystik Dan in the opening jewel of the Triple Crown, and Mindframe (7-2), who is trained by Todd Pletcher and is making his stakes debut after lopsided maiden and allowance optional claimer wins.
"I was very surprised Mindframe was the second choice," McPeek said. "Very surprised. But admittedly, up here at Saratoga, they bet on Chad and Todd. Mindframe hasn't run in a stakes but he has run fast, though the last time (a May 4 allowance race at Churchill Downs) he had a really slow pace (:49.18 and 1:13.17). He's going to get some pace Saturday."
Brown Believes Blazing Sevens Back to Top Form
As a grade 1 winner at 2 who then followed with a close runner-up finish in the 2023 Preakness Stakes at 3, Blazing Sevens looked like he would be a force in the second half of 2023.
But one never knows when challenges will present themselves in racing. Returning to top form in 2023 after that Preakness effort would prove elusive for Blazing Sevens and his trainer Chad Brown.
"After that tough defeat in the Preakness, he was never quite moving right afterward," Brown said. "I tried to get him into a nice race here at Saratoga and he came out of that even a little worse. He was just not himself."
The good news is that Blazing Sevens is back for his 4-year-old season and will enter the $1 million Metropolitan Handicap (G1) June 8 at Saratoga Race Course off a clear victory in an April 20 allowance-level race at Aqueduct Racetrack. That effort marked the first race for the son of Good Magic since the aforementioned start at Saratoga, a third-place finish in the Curlin Stakes in July 2023.
Brown said the time off has worked wonders for the 4-year-old colt campaigned by Rodeo Creek Racing. He'll enter Saturday's test off five works on the Belmont Park training track since the allowance win.
"I love the way the horse is moving," Brown said. "He's going to have to be at his best because it's a tough field but I do feel like this horse is going as well as he was when he almost won the Preakness last year."
At his best, Blazing Sevens won his maiden special weight debut in spectacular fashion, drawing off to a 6 1/4-length score in that six-furlong test in July 2022 at Saratoga. He earned a grade 1 placing in the Hopeful Stakes (G1) at the Spa and then registered a 3 1/4-length score in the one-mile Champagne Stakes (G1) at Aqueduct.
Finishing second by a head to National Treasure —who also is entered in the Met Mile—would prove the highlight of a winless 2023. While that big effort at 1 3/16 miles showed Blazing Sevens could handle a longer distance, Brown believes the mile may be his best. "Even though he narrowly lost the Preakness going a mile and three-sixteenths, going back to the (one-mile) Champagne, it looked like his best race," Brown said. "He might be a little better with a little pace in front of him, which you get in a mile race as opposed to races that are a little too far for him. Going forward, he looks like a mile to a mile and an eighth will be right in his wheelhouse."
