Barn Tour: Gargan on plans for Dornoch, other stable talent

Danny Gargan has had one Kentucky Derby starter, Tax, who finished 19th in 2019.

Barring the unforeseen, he’ll have his second this year with Dornoch after the Good Magic colt got his third straight win in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth on March 2. And there’s a possibility he’ll have two in the gate this year.

It was Dornoch’s first start since winning the Remsen (G2), and it brought his points total for the Kentucky Derby to 60. He’s in second place on the leaderboard and a virtual shoe-in even after the upcoming preps.

“I was pleased with his race,” Gargan told Horse Racing Nation on Monday. “He did it pretty easy, and we're happy that we didn't have to run harder than we needed to.”

Dornoch led at every call as the odds-on favorite and faced little challenge after the scratches of highly regarded Locked, Victory Avenue and Speak Easy.

For his next start, Gargan is leaning toward the April 6 Blue Grass (G1). “That’s been the plan all along.” The Florida Derby (G1) also is an option, and Gargan said he’ll decide after Dornoch’s next work.

One factor in the decision: “I'm from Kentucky. I’d like to win the Blue Grass.”

Still, “we don't want to 100 percent confirm because you never know. What if Fierceness didn't run (in the Florida Derby)? Then this race would be coming up really weak, and we'd be here.”

Dornoch, a full brother to 2023 Kentucky Derby winner Mage, had his first work since the Fountain of Youth on Saturday, breezing four furlongs in 49.95 seconds at Palm Meadows Training Center.

“I didn't want anything special. I told (the rider) to go 50, and they went 49 and four, so that was fine. I don't have to work him fast. He's a naturally athletic horse. He only had five works before his Fountain of Youth race. We're just trying to keep him sound and healthy. We don't need to prove anything in the mornings. We've worked him fast, we know he will.”

Like most big colts, Dornoch is “a little playful,” Gargan said. “He can be a little flashy on the track, jumping around and being a little clown sometimes. He's a little aggressive. We have to walk him with a lip shank. He can be a little tough. … He's just an aggressive-type colt. But then when he's in the stall, he relaxes and he's laid back.”

Gargan discussed other talent in his barn for the latest in HRN’s Barn Tour series, starting with that other Kentucky Derby possibility and other 3-year-olds.

Society Man. Another 3-year-old by Good Magic, he started in the Withers (G3) as a maiden and finished eighth. “We thought he'd perform better than he did. I wasn't up there that day, he just broke in a tangle, got shuffled way back and just never really got in the race. Brought him back and he won really easily the other day, circled the field (in a maiden special weight at Aqueduct). And he may run in the Wood (G2). We're going to look and see how the Wood comes up. And we might take another chance with him because he's a talented gelding.” The Wood Memorial offers 100-50-25-15-10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points.

Ringy Dingy. The 3-year-old daughter of Dialed In is a full sister to multiple Grade 1 winner Defunded. She broke her maiden on second try in September and won a black-type stakes at Delaware Park in October. She then was seventh in the Demoiselle (G3) in December before getting a break. Gargan said she’s pointed to a stakes at Laurel Park on April 20. “She's worth a lot of money as a broodmare already, but she's really talented. I ran her in the Damoiselle. She's not a bigger horse, and we gave her a big break to freshen her up. Her owners (Peter Callahan and James McDonald) are really classy guys, and we want to see how she can do through her 3-year-old campaign. And she actually worked a nice half-mile today,” breezing four furlongs in 49.95 seconds at Palm Meadows.

Queen’s Martini. The 3-year-old daughter of Mucho Macho Man won her July debut at Saratoga then was off until January, when she was second in a black-type stakes at Gulfstream Park. That was followed by a fourth-place finish in the Davona Dale (G2). “There's a stake race at Keeneland we're pointing towards.”

Justdeny. The 3-year-old Justify filly was 0-for-3 last year, with her first start on dirt before moving to turf. “She's going to run April the fifth at Keeneland. I expect her to be really tough.”

The Monopoly Man. The 3-year-old son of The Big Best broke his maiden March 6 at Gulfstream in his second try. “He's a nice Florida-bred. He's going to run back here in Florida, either in a Florida-bred stake later in the summer, but before that, he'll run in a Florida bred 1x."

Dakota Country. An unraced 3-year-old by Mucho Macho Man, “He's the brother of Dakota Gold and Ramblin Wreck,” all out of Dakota Kid. “We're getting him started here because of turf starting later in New York. So he'll get a race here to set up for his start back in New York. It's going to be fun to get him going, it's the third generation. It's always fun to keep training the families. And the other two are multiple stakes winners, and we're hoping he can be as talented as his brothers.”

Instamatic. The 3-year-old More Than Ready colt is a maiden after three starts last year, with second-place efforts in his last two. “He’ll run on April 19th in New York. He's one of Dean's (Reeves) also that we were really high on this year. He was second twice last year, and he had time off. We've turned a lot of them out. But I think it'll improve our summer.”

Older horses

Dubyhnell. Off for nearly seven months after finishing 11th in last year’s Florida Derby (G3), the Good Magic colt returned with an optional-claiming allowance win at Keeneland and then a sixth-place effort in the Harlan’s Holiday (G3). He debuted as a 4-year-old in the Mineshaft (G3), finishing eighth. “He ran OK here (at Gulfstream). He didn't like the ship to New Orleans and didn't run very well down there. And we probably went way too fast early, and he just got tired late and just did too much early. But we're going to try him, his brother (Cazaderos) was a graded-stakes winner on the grass. So we're going to give him a shot on the grass. He worked well on it. So he will go to Keeneland to probably run on the grass.”

Ramblin Wreck. The 4-year-old son of Redesdale had two wins and a second in stakes last year after getting started in June, then closed out the year with losses in two allowances at Belmont Park. “He's had two breezes. He had a nice work yesterday. He's a little behind the others. He won't run until probably May. He's a little bit behind.”

Dakota Gold. The 5-year-old gelded son of Freud had a record of 6: 1-1-1 last year, all in stakes. He’s been on a break since October, but “he's back breezing. He had the bullet today,” breezing four furlongs on turf in 48.55 seconds. “He's going to run April the 20th in a stake in New York. He's doing really well.”