Jerry Crawford sticks to the plan, wins first Triple Crown race

Jerry Crawford’s adherence to the guidelines he adopted upon establishing Donegal Racing in 2008 finally resulted in the ultimate reward when Mo Donegal won the Belmont Stakes. 

With four Kentucky Derby appearances yielding a pair of third-place finishes, Donegal Racing had enjoyed good moments before. Keen Ice took third in the 2015 Belmont. He then registered one of the great upsets in Travers history by running down Triple Crown champion American Pharoah for one of the partnership’s nine Grade 1 triumphs. Keen Ice went on to be third in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

But now Donegal has a great moment to its credit, one that Crawford will forever savor. “At some point, you want to run through the door and post a win in a Triple Crown classic,” he said.

The Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont have been focal points since the beginning. Crawford typically buys eight to 10 yearlings per season, all with the look and stamina-infused pedigrees to go the distance. He avoids 2-year-olds in training. Projected sprinters are of no interest.

He guards his partners’ money as carefully as he does his own. He does not go to seven figures for racing prospects. He has seen far too many of them fall far short of gaudy price tags. When he went to $250,000 for Mo Donegal at Keeneland’s September Yearling Sale, that was pretty much his limit.

“It’s what we think a horse might turn out to be as opposed to what they are at the sale,” said Crawford. “For example, Mo Donegal had a very slight chest and was close in front. But he looked just like other horses we’ve had who, by the time they were 3, had grown into themselves. We bet on him. We bet on what he would turn into by the time it mattered as opposed to how he looked at the sale.”

The $250,000 was the most the partnership spent on any horse in the last two years. “That makes shopping very, very difficult,” Crawford admitted. “If a horse shows any potential at all these days, they go for more than that.”

He only occasionally executes private sales. He famously sold a 25 percent stake in Mo Donegal to Mike Repole, also a client of trainer Todd Pletcher, before the Kentucky Derby. Hopes were high that the Wood Memorial (G2) winner and jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. would be able to use his powerful closing kick to bring home the roses.

“Todd and I both thought Mo was going to win the Kentucky Derby with any kind of trip at all,” Crawford said. “He didn’t get any kind of trip at all.”

Mo Donegal was seemingly doomed from the start of the Derby when he drew the rail and broke sluggishly. He did well to take a rallying fifth.

Part of the reason for Repole’s keen interest in Mo Donegal stemmed from his sire, Uncle Mo. Repole owned and remains emotionally attached to Uncle Mo after the horse’s bittersweet career. Uncle Mo displayed brilliance as a 2-year-old champion in 2010 but had to be scratched the day before the Derby and missed all of the Triple Crown series with a rare liver ailment. He never regained his juvenile form.

Although terms of the deal with Repole remain private, Crawford felt it was an offer too good to refuse. “Economically, it was a tremendous event for the partnership,” he said. “Look, this is a business it’s very difficult to survive in financially. By creating a significant financial return for our partners, that’s very beneficial to them and beneficial to the sport because it keeps people involved in racing.”

Part of the arrangement required the use of the New York native’s royal blue and orange silks for the Belmont. So when Donegal Racing enjoyed its finest moment, it did not look that way.

“It was hard to see our horse cross the finish line other than in yellow and green,” Crawford acknowledged. “Nonetheless, it was very special for him and very lucrative for our partners.”

He insisted he has no seller’s remorse. “I have no regrets,” he said. “It was absolutely the right decision.”

Donegal Racing has much to look forward to. Mo Donegal will be pointed to the Aug. 27 Travers (G1) at Saratoga Race Course. Donegal Mischief, a 2-year-old Into Mischief colt, also may debut at Saratoga. Crawford describes him as “lightning fast.” And Grade 1-winning turf standout Arklow will be campaigned at the grand age of 8.