Belmont Park: Dettori to ride Cogito in Jamaica

ELMONT, N.T. - One day before he is to ride dual European classic winner Camelot in the Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp, Frankie Dettori will be here to ride Cogito in the Grade 1, $400,000 Jamaica Handicap on Saturday.

Cogito, a Virginia-bred son of Giant’s Causeway, makes his North American debut against seven others, including Dullahan, in the $400,000 Jamaica, scheduled for 1 1/8 miles on turf.

Cogito, owned by Paul Reddam, won his first two starts before finishing in eighth in the Group 1 St. James’s Palace Stakes at the Royal Ascot meeting. According to Stewart Gosnell, assistant to trainer Brian Meehan, Cogito was impeded when a horse fell in that race.

“One went down on the final turn and he had to come around it,” Gosnell said. “Otherwise, he’d have definitely been placed. He finished well.”

In his most recent start, Cogito finished second in a Group 2 race in France. The winner of that July 22 race, Bayrir, came to the U.S. to win the Grade 1 Secretariat Stakes at Arlington Park in August. The third-place finisher from the July 22 race came back to win a pair of Group 2 stakes at Deauville.

Gosnell said soft turf would be “a minus” for Cogito, but added that as long as it’s not too soft, “he’ll deal with it.”
“He’s a good-moving horse,” Gosnell said.

Dullahan, who won the Pacific Classic, and Summer Front, a four-time stakes winner, are the top competitors in the field.