Half-brother of Sadler's Joy wins debut on Aqueduct dirt

Wolfie’s Dynaghost upset a field of 11 2-year-olds in a seven-furlong maiden special weight in race 5 at Aqueduct on Saturday. Sent off at odds of 33-1, the home-bred son of Ghostzapper took control of the race at the eighth pole and then extended his lead to a length and a half at the wire.

The field had two Todd Pletcher first-time starters, including one who was sent off as the 2.30-1 favorite based on his $725,000 yearling purchase. Wolfie’s Dynaghost was a long shot because trainer Tom Albertrani rarely wins with debut runners and the horse has a strong pedigree to race on the turf.

"It looked like a very competitive group of 2-year-olds, and I was very impressed with him,” said Albertrani.

Wolfie’s Dynaghost is a half-brother to the Grade 1 victor Sadler’s Joy and is a home-bred of Woodslane Farm, which also bred and owned the multiple graded stakes winner of more than $2.6 million. Their dam, Dynaire, now has produced five winners from six to start, including two others who were stakes placed with earnings of more than $200,000. Albertrani trained Sadler’s Joy throughout his 33-race career, including a third in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic (G1) at Belmont Park on Oct 3.

Wolfie’s Dynaghost prepared for this race at Saratoga during the summer and then at Belmont Park, showing only workouts on the dirt. With plenty of opportunities to race and train on the grass, Albertrani chose the main track for this bay colt’s racing debut.

“He’s a horse that always displayed a lot of talent in the morning and not only worked well over the turf but on the dirt,” explained the veteran trainer. “My only question was whether he would end up on the grass or the dirt. So we gave him a chance to see what he was like on the dirt, and he certainly proved it.”

Jockey Junior Alvarado broke alertly and settled in third position on the outside in the early going. They swung four-wide while entering the stretch and secured the victory in a time of 1:24.52 on an Aqueduct track that is known to be deep and does not produce fast times. The Kentucky-bred was given a 77 BSF, which was three points better than a stake for 2-year-olds that was run two races later.

With thoughts of the 2021 Kentucky Derby trail in mind, Albertrani said: “We’re probably going to regroup, ship to Florida and just get a feel for him when he gets down to Florida and see what the next step might be. Hopefully, he’ll be an exciting horse to target some bigger things.”