08/13/2011 5:20PM

Arlington: Santina Dond comes out on top in Hatoof

By Marty McGee
Email

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Russian émigré Gennadi Dorochenko bagged a big one Saturday when he sent out Santina Dond to a 31-1 upset in an absolute mad scramble in the $68,000 Hatoof Stakes, which led into the three Grade 1 International Festival of Racing events at Arlington Park.

With only about 70 yards to go in the one-mile turf race, all but one of the 12 3-year-old fillies were within a couple of lengths of the lead. In the frantic final yards, it was Santina Dond, with Carlos Castro aboard, who got to the wire first, with other price plays Happy Choice (9-1) and Lily Again (15-1) following closely behind.

Santina Dond, a gray filly by El Prado, returned $64.40 after finishing in 1:39.62 over a yielding turf. She had won 5 of 9 prior starts, albeit versus lesser company than in the Hatoof.

“I thought she deserved a chance in here,” said Dorochenko, in his first season at Arlington.

To illustrate the wildness of the race, the 10th-place finisher, Race to Urga, was beaten less than two lengths. Race to Urga, the 2-1 favorite, was among a handful of fillies to encounter traffic trouble.

The $2 exacta (2-4) paid $344, the $1 trifecta (2-4-12) paid $3,247.10, and the 10-cent super (2-4-12-9) paid $3,003.23.