Belmont Dornoch. (Jetta Vaughns)
By Laura Pugh
After two lackluster showings in the Blue Grass Stakes and Kentucky Derby, most of horse racing populus had written off the 2023 Remsen Stakes winner, Dornoch. I was one of those people, believing he just hadn’t made the improvement needed to continue at the same level as a 3-year-old.
After his win in the Fountain of Youth, I had an inkling that the full brother to last year’s Kentucky Derby winner only did what was needed to secure the win. It was his first race in three months, so there was no need to empty the tank, especially when they were trying to peak in May. The colt also had shown a tendency to wait on horses once making the lead, which makes the wins appear far less impressive.
After the Blue Grass Stakes, where his connections rather foolishly tried to change his running style, I became disillusioned with Dornoch. In that race, he finished a dull fourth place, after being asked to sit off the pace. The race proved that Dornoch needed the lead in order to win, something I suspected going into the Fountain of Youth, however after several scratches of key speed horses, the theory wasn’t able to be tested. In the Blue Grass, it was not only tested but proven, leading me to believe he had very little shot in the Kentucky Derby, a race brimming with speed.
In the Kentucky Derby, Dornoch drew the one post, a position that seems to be cursed, even with the new starting gate. Dornoch’s chances to make the lead were eliminated shortly after the break when he failed to get the best of jumps, causing him to get shuffled back. He finished 10th.
Two off the board finishes after a ho-hum sort of win in the Fountain of Youth seemed to be enough to keep him off most tickets in the Belmont Stakes, where he was let go at 17.70-1 odds. He had drawn post position 6, which all but ensured that he would not get his lead, since the wire-to-wire winner of the Preakness, Seize the Grey was starting from the rail post.
However, when the gates sprung, that didn’t stop Dornoch from trying. Piloted by Luis Saez the colt was at the throat latch of the Preakness winner heading into the first turn. The first quarter mile went in 22.99 seconds, pretty stiff for a 10-furlong event, especially at Saratoga. In fact, the opening quarter was only .02 seconds slower than the opening of the Kentucky Derby.
Seize the Grey continued to be hounded by Dornoch through a splits of 47.25 and 1.10.67, the latter being faster than the six furlong split of the Kentucky Derby, which went in 1.11.31. It was at this point that the Preakness winner started to weaken and Dornoch assumed command, coming to the mile in 1:35.51. At the top of the stretch, Dornoch was confronted by Mindframe. Despite drifting through the stretch, Mindframe kept a menacing presence through the entire stretch, but Dornoch refused to back down, crossing the line a half-length the better.
Dornoch earned a 100 Beyer Speed Figure, only a couple of point below his career best, a 125 TimeformUS figure, and a 106 E-Speed Figure, both of which were career best numbers. At this point, the question that needs to be asked is whether or not this version of Dornoch is the real version?
We didn’t get to see an example in the Blue Grass and Kentucky Derby, but after this performance I can’t imagine his connection trying to ever rate him again. In the Belmont Dornoch ran a pace that was faster than in the Kentucky Derby. His third internal split was 23.42 putting him never more than ½ a length behind the Preakness winner, who finished seventh, beaten nearly 13 lengths.
It is quite obvious that Dornoch does his best running when able to run at his pace, a fast pace. When he’s able to stretch it out the way he did in the Belmont, then there really isn’t much of a problem with speed. Historically, Dornoch likes a fight. He waited on horses in the Fountain of Youth, he waited on Sierra Leone in the Remsen, and fought the length of the Saratoga stretch with Mindframe. When he’s given the opportunity to run how he wants, which lands him in front at the top of the stretch, Dornoch doesn’t lose.
So, what will we see moving forward? Personally, I’d love to see Mage’s full brother duplicate his performance in a race like the Haskell or Jim Dandy Stakes. I’d like to see his connections give him the opportunity to stick to the style that earned him so much success earlier in his career. And I hope that Dornoch rewards them the same way he did in the Belmont Stakes, because who wouldn’t want to see lightning strike twice?
Here is to hoping the real Dornoch has finally stepped forward.
