Dornoch does it again, holding off Mindframe to win Haskell
Oceanport, N.J.
In the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga on June 8, Dornoch defeated Mindframe by a half-length after a stretch duel. On Saturday, in the Grade 1, $1.05 million Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park, those two top 3-year-olds met again and the results were remarkably similar as Dornoch won again. This time the winning margin was 1 1/4 lengths.
On a cloudy day at the Jersey Shore, the 38,976 racing fans who were in attendance helped to make Mindframe the 4-5 favorite, and Dornoch was the 3-1 third-choice in the pari-mutuel win pool.
Dornoch broke quickly from the rail with jockey Luis Saez, went right to the lead and opened a comfortable half-length lead. He maintained that lead for the first two calls, which were run in 23.32 and 48.08 seconds. Mindframe was fourth in the early going, two lengths behind Dornoch.
“He always breaks from there and wants to be on the engine,” Saez explained. “The plan was to break good from there and put him in the race. He did it. He showed up today.”
After six furlongs went in 1:12.05, Dornoch gave up the lead briefly to Timberlake while Mindframe began to close in on the leaders. By the time they hit the top of the stretch, Mindframe had taken a half-length lead and appeared to be on his way to a victory.
Just as in the Belmont Stakes, Dornoch battled back while racing closest to the rail. Once again, Mindframe drifted around in the stretch. First he moved in, got corrected by the crop of his regular jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., and then drifted out. This enabled the determined Dornoch to draw away to his second Grade 1 victory and the fifth win from nine career starts.
“Mindframe was coming at him and we knew he was the horse to beat but we got the victory,” Saez added. “He’s a special horse. He was pretty comfortable out there. He’s a really good horse who always shows a lot of guts and a big heart. Today he was traveling pretty comfortably. At the three-eighths when everyone was coming at him he re-broke again. He responded. He wanted to get there first.”
Trainer Danny Gargan was concerned about Dornoch drawing the rail for the Haskell and said that he had considered running in next Saturday's Jim Dandy (G2) at Saratoga. In the end, Dornoch had no trouble at all getting to the lead and now has an extra week to prepare for his next start.
“I was playing a little cat and mouse,” Gargan said. “Mindframe went off the favorite and he’s a really good horse. But as trainers we play games. Luis rode a smart race tactically. It’s a speed bias track normally but I was a little nervous speed wasn’t holding that well. To go 48 (seconds) on this track when the rest of the card they were going in 50, he showed a lot of heart. You can’t take anything away from him after this.”
Dornoch earned $600,000 for the victory and increased his career earnings to $2,352,275. His paid $8.80, $3.00 and $2.40 for a $2 win, place and show wager. With Mindframe the $2 exacta returned $19.80. Timberlake, who was actually the 3-1 second choice and briefly had the lead, completed the trifecta of the top three favorites that returned $40.60 for 50 cents.
With the Haskell victory Dornoch moved closer to becoming the champion of the 3-year-old male division.
“This race was five weeks before the Travers, which made the timing perfect,” Gargan noted. “We want to win the Travers. He’s always been special to all of us. He’s probably the leading 3-year-old right now and if we can win the Travers that would be three Grade 1 wins for us. You know, he's probably in the mix for the 3-year-old championship right now. And if we can win the Travers I think, you know, that would be huge for the horse.”