Dagnabit! An upset in the Tremont
Sunday’s historic juvenile contests at Belmont Park, the $105,300 Tremont S.
and the $109,500 Astoria S., were a mixed bag for the betting favorites. While
1-5 choice Mr Mistoffelees (Storm Cat) stumbled badly at the start of the 116th
Tremont and wound up last behind DAGNABIT (Freud), BOLD UNION (Dixie Union)
justified her 9-5 favoritism with a resounding score in the 102nd Astoria.
Lansdon B. Robbins and Tom Hansen’s homebred Dagnabit advanced his record to
a perfect two-for-two in an eventful
Tremont.
After Mr Mistoffelees flubbed the break, pacesetting chores fell to
Regardlessofoutcome (Bring the Heat), who rattled off fractions of :22 1/5 and
:46. Houseful (Housebuster) applied pressure in second, with Dagnabit a close-up
third beneath Cornelio Velasquez. In the stretch, Regardlessofoutcome surged
clear, getting five furlongs in :59 1/5, but soon began to bear out.
By this point, Dagnabit was finally gathering momentum and gradually erasing
the leader’s advantage. Despite being floated out by Regardlessofoutcome,
Dagnabit collared him and crossed the wire a half-length in front. The Richard
Dutrow pupil stopped the teletimer in 1:06 3/5 for the fast-track 5 1/2 furlongs
and returned $10.80, $4.50 and $7.80 as the nearly 9-2 second choice.
“It wasn’t that much of a surprise because he ran well the first time out,
and he’s been training really well up to this point,” assistant trainer Michelle
Nevin said.
Regardlessofoutcome was nine lengths clear of his nearest pursuer,
Essenceofthemoon (Malibu Moon), in a strung-out field. Houseful retreated to
fourth, 4 1/2 lengths behind Essenceofthemoon, and Mr Mistoffelees brought up the rear, another 5 3/4 lengths adrift.
Mr Mistoffelees’ trainer, Todd Pletcher, blamed the colt’s nightmare start.
“It took him out of his element,” Pletcher explained. “Speed is his weapon,
and he lost that in the first jump.”
Dagnabit was coming off a victorious debut in a New York-bred maiden at
Belmont on June 15. With this first stakes score, the bay colt increased his
earnings to $92,580. Dagnabit is out of the winning Silver Ghost mare Cool
Ghoul, making him a full brother to the stakes-placed Bad Boy Rising. He has a
pair of half-siblings, a yearling filly named Offlee Cool (Offlee Wild) and a
2008 colt by First Samurai. Dagnabit’s second dam is Grade 1 queen Single Blade
(Hatchet Man).
In the
Astoria, George and Lori Hall’s Bold Union never had an anxious moment en
route to her 9 3/4-length romp. The undefeated filly, who had demolished her
foes in a June 1 maiden at Monmouth, has now won both of her starts by a
combined 20 1/2 lengths.
With regular rider Stewart Elliott back aboard on Sunday, Bold Union was
poised just off the outer flank of the leading Lori Z’s Punch (Two Punch)
through an opening quarter in :22 1/5. Bold Union took command by the time they
reached the half-mile mark in :46 1/5, and she merely widened her advantage
while completing 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:05 4/5. The bay provided mutuels of $5.70,
$4.30 and $3.20.
“In the race at Monmouth, she made the lead and was pricking her ears like
she was waiting for company,” Elliott said. “Today, we found out she could run.”
Girlfrienontheside (Indian Charlie) rallied to finish a clear second by 3 1/2
lengths. Golden Artemis (Malibu Moon) held third by a head from Pride (Lion
Heart), the nearly 2-1 second choice, who broke poorly like her stablemate in
the Tremont, Mr Mistoffelees. Ride on Josephine (Johannesburg), Winning Brew
(Milwaukee Brew) and Lori Z’s Punch rounded out the order of the finish.
A $75,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase, Bold Union has now
bankrolled $87,900. Bred in Kentucky by Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings, she
was produced by seven-time stakes star Bold World (Fortunate Prospect), whose
signature victory came in the 2002 Azalea S. (G3). Bold World’s latest offspring
is an unnamed yearling filly by Afleet Alex.