Kentucky Derby trail: Dornoch needs a challenge in Blue Grass

Boynton Beach, Fla.

Trainer Danny Gargan was a man with a plan when Dornoch made his 3-year-old debut in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes on March 2 at Gulfstream Park. He instructed jockey Luis Saez to be sure to sit off Speak Easy in an effort to teach his swift colt to rate.

Plans in racing are made to be changed, of course. Speak Easy was scratched after he broke loose during the post parade and skimmed the rail, suffering lacerations while doing so. Dornoch’s abundant speed allowed him to make the easiest of leads against four badly overmatched opponents. He coasted by 1 3/4 lengths.

The good news: The victory was worth 50 Kentucky Derby qualifying points, giving him 60 overall to ensure that he will advance to the first Saturday in May. The bad news? The full brother to Mage, last year’s Derby winner, did not learn a thing.

The Fountain of Youth marked the third consecutive victory of his five-race career, with all of those successes coming in front-running fashion. As the Good Magic colt, out of the Big Brown mare Puca, readies for his final Derby prep in the $1 million Blue Grass (G1) on Saturday at Keeneland, the plan does not necessarily revolve around winning. Gargan again is hell-bent on having Saez teach him to rate.

“We’re just happy we don’t have to worry about points so we can try to do the right thing and school him in this next race,” the trainer said. “We think he’s still going to run a huge effort.”

The Louisville native added, “I think he’s training better going into the Blue Grass than he was going into the Fountain of Youth, so hopefully we’ll see him move forward.”

Gargan is convinced Dornoch is not the kind who must have the lead to run his best. He believes it happened when the youngster broke his maiden on Oct. 14 at Keeneland and again in the Dec. 2 Remsen (G2) at Aqueduct and again in the Fountain of Youth simply because there was no one fast enough to beat him to the punch.

The way Dornoch conducts himself in the morning tells him that. “We find that he likes to run at horses more than he does to be on the lead. It’s just that he has a turn of foot that puts him there,” Gargan said. “When a horse is next to him, he’s real competitive. We’ll see a lot bigger performance when he has competition to run with.”

Dornoch always has possessed the sturdy frame to help him succeed in classic races. The mental aspect? He was playful to a fault as a juvenile. Exercise rider Priscilla Schaefer sees her big boy growing up at the perfect time as he prepares to leave his winter base at Palm Meadows Training Center for the immense challenges that await in Kentucky.

“He’s training just phenomenally right now,” Schaefer said. “He’s feeling good. He’s focused. Every race he grows up a little bit more.”

She has been aboard from the start and sees steady progress. “Every day it’s like he’s going up another step, another step, another step,” she said.

Gargan, a former jockeys’ agent, is in his 12th year as a trainer. He enjoyed considerable success with an aggressive approach to the claiming game but, with the help of owners Randy Hill and Dean Reeves, among others, is now focused more on upgrading his quality with an emphasis on developing young horses.

In addition to Dornoch in the Blue Grass, he takes great pride in having another starter in a Derby prep. Recent maiden winner Society Man, also by Good Magic, is headed to Saturday’s Wood Memorial (G2) at Aqueduct.

“I feel like I’m training and doing a better job now than I’ve ever done,” Gargan said.

He grew up a few blocks from Churchill Downs. He understood at a young age how momentous it is to win the Kentucky Derby and how much luck is involved.

“Right place, right time, right trip,” Gargan said. “We’re just hoping we get there with a healthy horse. If he gets in the gate on Derby Day healthy and happy, he’s the type of horse that can work out a trip and win it.”