Dornoch rises to divisional leader in Haskell as Spendthrift stallion deal announced

The toteboard said there would be a reversal of fortunes. In the June 8 Belmont Stakes at Saratoga, Dornoch defeated Mindframe by a half-length in the final jewel of the Triple Crown. But when the two colts met again in Saturday's Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park, the betting favourite was Mindframe – by a wide margin. Mindframe, owned by Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables, was the 4-5 choice.

Dornoch wasn't even the second choice in the top-level test for three-year-olds. That role went to Timberlake , who had not raced since he finished fourth as the 6-5 favorite in the Arkansas Derby on March 30. He was sent off at 3.30-1.

Meanwhile, Dornoch, the lone Classic winner in the field, was the third choice at 3.40-1 in the field of seven three-year-olds.

"I don't pay attention to the odds," said Danny Gargan, the trainer of Dornoch, a full brother to 2023 Kentucky Derby winner Mage.

Neither does Dornoch.

In yet another ultragame performance by the son of Good Magic , Dornoch led for the first half-mile, only to be passed by two of his six rivals before he once again displayed his amazing heart by drawing clear in the stretch and taking the $1,005,000 Haskell by 1 1/4 lengths over Mindframe to position himself as the top three-year-old male.

"Remember," co-owner Randy Hill said. "Nobody passes Dornoch."

Of late, while horses have been able to pass Dornoch, staying in front of him has been problematic. Much like the Belmont Stakes, the Haskell marked the second straight time Mindframe held the lead over Dornoch in the stretch. In the Belmont, Mindframe poked his head in front at the eighth pole before Dornoch battled back.

On Saturday, Mindframe, after a powerful, wide, sweeping move to the front on the final turn, led by a bigger margin at the eighth pole and lost by a greater margin.

"He finds something. He's special," Gargan said about the colt owned by West Paces Racing, Hill, Belmar Racing and Breeding, Pine Racing Stables, and the Two Eight Racing of former Major League all-star Jayson Werth.

"I'm proud because he ran against a bias. Speed wasn't good today and people have been saying speed tracks have been lifting him up and keeping him running. Well, today he didn't have the track that he liked and he still finds a way to lift himself up and keeping running. He's a special, talented horse."

In a chaotic three-year-old male division that has been searching for a clear-cut leader through a Triple Crown season with three different Classic winners, the Haskell squarely positioned Dornoch at the top of the pack.

"He's the best three-year-old," Werth said. "He had a bad trip in the Kentucky Derby [where he was 10th] but we never stopped believing in him. He's been discounted and discredited the whole way and I'm elated that he's getting the notoriety and credibility he deserves."

With the Haskell serving as a Breeders' Cup Challenge Series event for the Breeders' Cup Classic, Dornoch earned a free spot in the $7 million Classic on November 2 at Del Mar, which could be his final race.

During the post-race press conference Hill announced the ownership group had a stallion agreement in place and that Dornoch would stand at Spendthrift Farm.

"We have a breeding deal so he only has a few more races left," Werth said. "It makes the stakes bigger and bigger and the opportunities to watch him race fewer and fewer. It's hard to compare the two feelings."

Dornoch's next start will be on August 24 in the Travers Stakes at Saratoga, where he could clinch the Eclipse Award for the champion three-year-old male.

"This race was five weeks before the Travers, which made the timing perfect. We want to win the Travers. He's always been special to all of us. He's probably the leading three-year-old right now and if we can win the Travers that would be three Grade 1 wins for us. He's such a great horse and we're blessed just to be part of it," Gargan said about the colt bred by Grandview Equine out of the Big Brown mare Puca.

Attendance was 38,976, the largest crowd at Monmouth since 60,983 turned out for the 2015 Haskell won by American Pharoah. The all-sources handle of $21.7 million set a record for a non-Breeders' Cup day, narrowly surpassing last year's mark of $21.3 million.

For all the latest bloodstock and racing news from North America, visit Bloodhorse