Delaware Derby winner Admiral Dennis sets sail on second half

The calendar may not be quite there yet but the unofficial second half of the racing season has begun. After a very good Triple Crown series, it’s time for late bloomers to emerge and demonstrate their talent among a strong crop of 3-year-old males. One such colt may have announced himself just a bit off the beaten path on Saturday.

In the inaugural edition of the Delaware Derby at Delaware Park, Albaugh Family Stables’ Admiral Dennis turned in a dominating performance to earn his first stakes victory.

The chestnut son of Constitution arrived at the Blue Hen State for the $200,000 event as a mixed bag of potential and disappointment. A physically impressive individual, plenty was expected of the $425,000 Keeneland September yearling graduate. His previous attempts in stakes races left a ton of room for improvement, however.

With the talented jockey Luan Machado hopping aboard for the first time, Admiral Dennis showed a new dimension in the Delaware Derby.

Trained by Brad Cox, he had been having trouble at the break. In the $1 million Rebel (G2), he broke very slowly and never threatened while rallying from last for sixth of 13. In the Blue Grass (G1), he wasn’t as far back early but a mediocre start still left him with a lot to do. There were no such early stumbles on Saturday.

Breaking sharply, Admiral Dennis was involved from the outset. The 2-1 second choice in the field of eight was eager early and contested for the lead heading into the first turn. He stayed right on the tail of the early pace set by the race favorite Kentucky Outlaw down the backstretch.

Staying close, but allowing his rider to push the buttons, this was a welcome change for a colt with previous early race issues. When the real running began, he took his cue from Machado and reeled in his rival with ease.

From there it was all about Admiral Dennis as he kicked clear with big strides and cruised to the wire an easy winner at Delaware Park. Barbadian Runner, who like Kentucky Outlaw was coming off a good-looking win at Monmouth Park, ran on well to finish a solid second and well clear of the race favorite who held third.

The 3 1/4-length victory was not only visually impressive but was backed up by the final time of 1:43.57. Over a track not yielding fast times, Admiral Dennis covered the 1 1/16-mile distance more than two full seconds faster than Fondly needed to win the Delaware Oaks (G3) in the next race on the card.

With his first stakes win, Admiral Dennis raised his career record to three victories from seven starts with earnings of $331,988. More importantly, he may have turned the corner in his young racing career.

Having demonstrated ability early on as a juvenile, he is a colt who needed to figure things out and put it all together.

Two starts back, he ran a good race when beaten only three lengths by the established pair of Burnham Square and East Avenue in the Blue Grass, but he still wasn’t quite there.

Rather than force feeding the talented colt one or more legs of the Triple Crown, Admiral Dennis was given a chance to mature and build his confidence. Clearly the strategy did him well in the Delaware Derby. It might also bode well for his future.

To this point, the quality 3-year-old crop of male runners can be summarized as Sovereignty, Journalism, and everybody else. In his first six career races, Admiral Dennis remained down the list of everybody else, but he is one with the real potential to move up. Saturday was a step in the right direction.

It will be interesting to see where Admiral Dennis goes from here. There are big races like the Haskell and Travers coming up soon, or perhaps he will look to feast on smaller Derbies spread out throughout the Midwest in coming months.

The Cox barn is loaded with quality horses, and it remains to be seen whether his Delaware Derby victory was primarily a case of beating up on lesser competition, or if it was a sign of good things to come for Admiral Dennis.

I lean to the latter, with the belief that this is a talented colt who needed to learn his lessons. The confidence builder should do him well as he sets sail on the second half of the racing season.