Leading 3-year-old Dornoch to stand at Spendthrift upon retirement
July 21, 2024
Leading 3-year-old Dornoch, winner of last month’s Belmont Stakes (G1) at Saratoga and Saturday’s Haskell Stakes (G1) at Monmouth, will stand stud at Eric & Tamara Gustavson’s Spendthrift Farm upon retirement.
“We couldn’t be more excited to acquire the breeding rights to such a special horse as Dornoch, and we are grateful to Larry Connolly, Randy Hill, Keith Mason, Vito Cucci, Jayson Werth, Danny Gargan and team for the opportunity,” said Ned Toffey, Spendthrift general manager. “With his impressive wins in the Belmont Stakes and Haskell, Dornoch is certainly the 3-year-old division leader, and he is making a strong case that he’s the best 3-year-old we have seen from the Curlin line. He really has an impeccable profile that should make him as desirable a stallion prospect as the industry can provide when his racing days are over. Until then, we will be cheering on their team and can’t wait to see what Dornoch goes on to accomplish. He keeps getting better and better, and the sky is the limit for a horse like this.”
Trained by Danny Gargan, Dornoch broke his maiden impressively at Keeneland as a 2-year-old before capturing the Remsen Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct over Sierra Leone in his next start. The grand-looking son of Good Magic delivered as the odds-on favorite to win the Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) at Gulfstream earlier this year in his 3-year-old debut. Following a troubled trip from the dreaded one post in the Kentucky Derby, Dornoch returned to New York to defeat a star-studded field in the Belmont S. at Saratoga, earning a 101 Beyer – the fastest performance from the 2024 Triple Crown.
On Saturday, Dornoch affirmed his position atop the 3-year-old division with a victory in the Haskell S., again turning back Mindframe for the second consecutive time to win by 1 ¼ lengths. He stopped the clock in 1:50.31 for 1 1/8 miles under jockey Luis Saez, earning a career-high 103 Beyer. The win was Dornoch’s fifth from nine starts and he increased his earnings to $2,352,275 to date for owners West Paces Racing, R. A. Hill Stable, Belmar Racing and Breeding, Two Eight Racing and Pine Racing Stables.
Dornoch, who earned a berth into the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) at Del Mar in November, will likely make his next start in the Travers Stakes (G1) on Aug. 24th at Saratoga, where he captured the Belmont S. at the same 1 ¼-mile distance.
A full brother to last year’s Kentucky Derby winner Mage, Dornoch hails from the blue hen mare Puca and was purchased as a yearling by Oracle Bloodstock, agent on behalf of the ownership group for $325,000 at the 2022 Keeneland September sale.