Reeves Thoroughbred Racing’s Dakota Gold made his seasonal debut a winning one in the $150,000 Spectacular Bid division of the New York Stallion Stakes June 19 on the turf at Belmont Park.
Dakota Gold, who finished fifth last out in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T) in November at Del Mar, was the 1-2 favorite. Despite getting a run for his money from a stubborn Surprise Buss In the stretch, Dakota Gold was able to shake off seven months’ worth of rust, pulling away by three-quarters of a length to secure his second stakes victory in four lifetime starts.
Leaving from post 2 under Irad Ortiz Jr., Dakota Gold angled a path wide and rated a close second to the outside of Surprise Boss, who went the opening quarter-mile in :23.66 over the firm going. After a half-mile in :48.40, Ortiz coaxed Dakota Gold and found himself on even terms with Surprise Boss in upper stretch. Dakota Gold gained a slight advantage just outside the sixteenth pole. He extended his lead in the final strides and won in 1:21.50.
DAKOTA GOLD hard to catch in the NYSSS Spectacular Bid Stakes! #BelmontPark @TheDream pic.twitter.com/0sFddMUuYm
— NYRA (🌳) (@TheNYRA) June 19, 2022
Dakota Gold, a chestnut son of New York breeding stalwart Freud , took the open-company Sept. 26 Nownow Stakes at Monmouth Park. But trainer Danny Gargan said he plans on sticking to state-bred company for now, targeting the one-mile, $150,000 NYSSS Cab Calloway Stakes Aug. 17 at Saratoga Race Course.
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“I was using this as a springboard to Saratoga. There’s a Stallion Series race there that we’re aiming for,” Gargan said. “It’s good to have him back. It took a while to get him back, so it’s fun to have a nice horse like this.”
Gargan said he envisioned a swifter pace.
“That horse (Surprise Boss) got an easy lead, and obviously we want to run further. Irad said he had a lot of horse and he was just playing with the others,” Gargan said. “I wanted two of them in front of us. I thought they’d go (three-quarters in) 1:09 and change. They came home in 11. I’ve only had two or three horses in my life run that fast .”
Gargan said Dakota Gold touted his talent when working in company.
“When he was a baby, no one knew he could run this well,” Gargan said. “Then I worked him on the grass in company and I was like, ‘Oh, my God.’ “
Dean and Patti Reeves of Reeves Thoroughbred Racing earned their third stakes win of the meet. They previously won with the Christophe Clement-trained Big Invasion and Senbei .
Dakota Gold earned $82,500, raising his total to $467,500 while returning $3.10 to win. His record is 4-3-0-0.
Bred in the Empire State by Sequel Thoroughbreds and Ron Bowden, Dakota Gold is out of the Lemon Drop Kid mare Dakota Kid, who is a half sister to grade 1-winning millionaire Dakota Phone . The dam has a 2-year-old Redelsdale colt and a yearling Mucho Macho Man colt. Dakota Gold was purchased for $83,000 from the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Fall Sale, where he was consigned by The New Hill Farm.
Video: New York Stallion S. (BT)
Dream Central Graduates in Style at 39-1 in $150K NYSS Cupecoy’s Joy
Eddie F’s Racing’s Dream Central a 39-1 shot, broke her maiden for trainer Gary Sciacca in Sunday’s $150,000 Cupecoy’s Joy division of the New York Stallion Stakes Series for 3-year-old fillies sprinting seven furlongs on the Widener turf at Belmont Park.
Dream Central wins the Cupecoy’s Joy Stakes at Belmont Park
The bay Central Banker filly was coming off an even seventh-place effort in a May 30 maiden special weight over the same distance and course in which she was bumped at the start and forced seven-wide on the turn. After making her first two starts on dirt, she finished third in her second try on grass April 29 sprinting six furlongs.
“I knew she was a decent filly. She was training well,” owner Eddie Fazzone said. “We tried her on the dirt when she first came up, and she hated the dirt. She was doing really well when we brought her back. The maiden race last time, she wasn’t paying attention. She was looking around. time on the turf this year she ran a nice third, so we knew she’d love the grass. Seven furlongs I thought would be her best distance, too. I saw the race and said, ‘This is the race right here.’ “
Dream Central, from post 2 in a field of 11, was allowed to stalk the pace in sixth under patient handling from Jose Lezcano as Royal Dancer and Shinfull vied for the lead through an opening quarter-mile in :22.36 over the firm turf.
Royal Dancer gained the advantage over a retreating Shinfull entering the turn through a half-mile in :45.50 as the Manny Franco-piloted Robin and Eli swung outside from six lengths back in eighth to begin her run at the leader. Lezcano got to work aboard Dream Central as Royal Dancer extended her margin to two lengths at the stretch call. Robyn and Eli quickly closed the gap down the center of the track as Dream Central found her best stride nearing the sixteenth pole. Lezcano guided Dream Central between Robyn and Eli and a tiring Royal Dancer to find the wire just in time and won by a neck in 1:21.57.
Big dreaming for Dream Central in the NYSSS Cupecoy’s Joy at 39-1! 💣 #BelmontPark pic.twitter.com/WkxMftt7nh
— NYRA (🌳) (@TheNYRA) June 19, 2022
“My filly didn’t get out when I needed, and then the other horse tried to hold me over there. He [Franco] did his job,” Lezcano said. “But my filly, when I asked her, she really responded and finished the job. She picked it up real good and the other horse was fighting back at the same time.”
Sciacca, who has had stakes success with Eddie F’s Racing’s Chowda and Lobstacredited Fazzone with the idea to run Dream Central in the Cupecoy’s Joy.
“Eddie really wanted to run here,” Sciacca said. “Two months ago, he picked this spot out. He wanted to run here no matter what. We had a couple of bad breaks with her. A couple of times, things didn’t go right. But she got it all together today. “
Fazzone said the Cupecoy’s Joy was on his radar because of the New York-bred and New York-sired programmes.
“I love it. It’s great,” Fazzone said. “It’s the best racing going, the horses are great. The sire stakes here are nice.”
Bred in New York by Fedwell Farms, Dream Central paid $81.50 to win and earned $82,500. Her record stands at 7-1-0-1 with total earnings of $95,917.
Dream Central is out of the stakes-placed Deputy Wild Cat mare Dreamed to Dream, who has also produced the Allaire DuPont Distaff Match Series Stakes (G3) runner-up Dreamalildreamofu . The dam has a 2-year-old Klimt filly named Secessionist and a 2022 Speedster colt.
Video: New York Stallion S. (BT)
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