Barn Tour: Lovell 2-year-old's runaway win 'wasn't a fluke'

On the Saturday of Independence Day weekend, 2-year-old Damon's Mound generated lots of buzz when he won his debut by 12 1/2 lengths at Churchill Downs.

"He was showing off," trainer Michelle Lovell told Horse Racing Nation. "He's a wonderful animal, obviously very, very talented. And we have high hopes for him. And I know that wasn't a fluke."

The Florida-bred colt by Girvin out of San Antonio Stroll is owned by Michele and Cliff Love.

“The man that broke him down at Ocala Stud, David O'Farrell, had told the owners that he thought their homebred was a pretty nice young horse,” Lovell said. “He gave himself away. But he's just talented, he does everything so well and in hand that who could know that he could do it during a race, too? He ran just like he trains, everything completely in hand.”

The next “logical step,” she said, is the Saratoga Special (G2) on Aug. 13.

The Special is 6 1/2 furlongs, half a furlong longer than his first start, and Lovell expects he will be able to stretch out farther.

“He's shown a lot of talent in his works, just under wraps. And just like his race, going six furlongs – obviously he widened down the stretch. And then he kept widening on his gallop out. So I think that he'll be fine. And he looks like he should go two turns. So it's nice to be able to stretch out a little.”

For the second year in a row, Lovell has moved her string of 30 to Colonial Downs for the summer. Last year, she had to leave Churchill Downs when the track replaced its turf course, and Colonial Downs was a “good option.”

“This is a great place to be to develop horses and to give the older horses, kind of give their brain a break,” she said. “It's just really a great environment for horses here at Colonial, so it's a fun time. Moving is no fun. But once we're here it's a nice place to be.”

Lovell also discussed other talented horses in her stable for the latest in HRN’s Barn Tour series.

Just Might. This 6-year-old gelding got his first win of 2022 last out in the black-type Mighty Beau at Churchill Downs. He’s entered in Monday’s Van Clef Stakes at Colonial.

“He's been our superstar in the barn. He's done a lot of great things. My partner and I own him – my partner Pappy, Dr. Griffon – and his family. They did a lot of traveling last year to come to his races, and we've had a lot of fun with that horse. He's been really special for us. We raised him. And he's doing super.”

Just Might won seven stakes in 11 starts last year.

“He's been running hard and beating some pretty good horses,” Lovell said. “So he's surprisingly good for a long time. I think he just keeps on going. He does his job every time. And every time I've tried to get him to step up in a graded stakes, we've had a little issue here or there, whether it be him taking a shoe off in a race, grabbing a quarter once in the Phoenix at Keeneland and getting pinched back. Every time we're in a graded-stakes race, something happens. But he's still young. He's 6 and he's very healthy, and we're going have fun with him for a while.”

Change of Control. The 6-year-old mare was fourth last out in the Jaipur (G1) and is looking for her first win of the year after two seconds and a third in five starts. She is entered in Monday’s Andy Guest Stakes at Colonial. “Last year when I had her at Colonial, we had to ship her out in graded stakes. This year, we get to run at home, out of her stall, which is really nice. She's been super in our barn. She's like our superstar too. She's a lovely mare and very courageous and takes her show on the road. Every time we hit the road, she gives it her all, so it'll be nice to run out of our barn.” As for her effort in the Jaipur, “She ran her eyeballs out against the boys,” Lovell said. “So it's nice to get a little class relief from that.”

Rakassah. The 5-year-old mare also is entered in the Andy Guest, which will be her first start for Lovell after being transferred from Phil D’Amato. “She's been a California girl. She shipped to me in Kentucky and we've been getting her ready for this race. We had a race picked out for her in Kentucky, but then they all came off the turf. So I just trained her up to this stakes race, so I think she'll give a good showing of herself.”

Ballinonabudjet. The 4-year-old gelding is getting a breather after compiling a record of 6: 3-0-1 this year. “He's been a pretty good boy. He stepped up quite a few times, so he's gotten a little bit of a break. He's a Louisiana-bread. And he's won at Keeneland this year, and he's won a couple this year. Just going to try to get him back going and get him ready for the winter at the Fair Grounds.”