Iron Dome Prevails in Empire Classic on Showcase Day

L and N Racing and Chester Broman, Sr.'s Iron Dome won a dramatic renewal of the $250,000 Empire Classic on Saturday's Empire Showcase Day card at Belmont Park. The lucrative program offered 10 stakes exclusively for horses foaled in New York State valued at a combined $2.1 million in purses. Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen and piloted by Ricardo Santana, Jr., the 4-year-old Into Mischief colt avenged a sixth-place finish as the mutuel favorite in this event last year with a gritty score. Michael Levinson of L and N Racing said he was thrilled to take part in a card that celebrates the New York-bred program. "We love it," Levinson said. "We bought this horse at Keeneland for half a million. We love that he's a New York-bred, gave us the option to run in these kinds of races. We didn't win this race last year, and this year's race was tougher than last year's field, in my opinion. This is exciting. Belmont Park just opened, to win the first edition of this race at the new Belmont Park is amazing." Iron Dome [No. 7, $14.06] benefited from a pace battle between Leon Blue and Donegal Surges, while finding his best stride late to best Wynstock by a head in the Empire Classic [Race 10], a nine-furlong test for 3-year-olds and up. "Ricardo rode a perfect race, sat, didn't get impatient, and at the eighth-pole, just asked him to go and he just ran them down," Levinson said. "I mean that was a perfect ride and Steve did a great job training our horse up to this race. This has been our target the entire year." Iron Dome won the state-bred Albany at Saratoga Race Course last year to complete a hat trick of wins ahead of a runner-up effort in the Grade 3 Oklahoma Derby at Remington Park. On Saturday, he returned to the winner's circle for the first time since the Albany, tracking from fourth position as Leon Blue and Donegal Surges dueled through three-quarters in a swift 1:10.45 seconds over the fast main track. The Flavien Prat-piloted Tricky Business moved first to take command at the top of the lane, but Iron Dome kept grinding and gained ground as Wynstock, with Kendrick Carmouche up, loomed large to their outside. In a cavalry charge to the wire, it was Iron Dome, who put his head down first over Wynstock, who was a neck better than Tricky Business. It was a further three-quarter lengths back to Doc Sullivan in fourth with only a neck each separating Donegal Surges and Bank Frenzy in a blanket finish. Pandagate, Leon Blue, Ez Roll and Alan Turing rounded out the order of finish. Iron Dome stopped the clock for nine furlongs in 1:47.84. Iron Dome was purchased for $500,000 at the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. He is out of the graded stakes-placed Speightstown mare Speightful Affair, and is a half-brother to the popular New York-bred Mr. Buff—a sizable 17-hands tall graded stakes-placed chestnut that banked more than $1.4 million through a 48-17-8-5 ledger, including 11 stakes wins. Iron Dome, bred by Chester Broman and the late Mary Broman, banked $137,500 in victory while improving his record to 14-4-4-2.