Berndt breaks through with Hay Dakota

STICKNEY, Ill. – Joel Berndt’s first year as a trainer came in 1991. His first graded-stakes win came Saturday, when Hay Dakota was up by a neck at odds of 29-1 in the Grade 3 Commonwealth Turf at Churchill Downs.

Berndt said Sunday that Hay Dakota, who got an 86 Beyer for his fourth win, could start next at Gulfstream Park on Dec. 3 in the $125,000 Claiming Crown Emerald. Hay Dakota qualifies for that starter-allowance race because he ran in a $20,000 maiden claimer in June at Canterbury Park.

That race marked Hay Dakota’s first on turf, and the surface switch turned around the career of a horse Berndt said had failed to fulfill his promise in four dirt races.

◗ There’s a pretty good feature on Wednesday’s card at Hawthorne. Race 7, a high-end dirt-route allowance also open to $25,000 claimers, drew a field of seven. Sure to be favored is Shanghai Red, who starts for the claiming option and whose connections, trainer Scott Becker and owner Bill Stiritz, have been going great guns at Hawthorne. Through Saturday’s races, Becker, who trains privately for Stiritz, had a meet record of 16-4-5 from 43 starts.