Drafted rallies from last to nail Little Vic on wire in Gravesend

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Drafted came with a furious late run under Luis Rodriguez Castro to nail Little Vic on the wire and win Friday’s $135,000 Gravesend Stakes by a nose, capping a superb year for himself and trainer David Duggan.

It was the fourth stakes win of the year for Drafted, an 8-year-old gelding by Field Commissioner who has now won 10 races from 33 career starts. The first-place purse of $74,250 pushed Duggan’s 2022 purse earnings to $1,002,880. It was the second time in his career, first since 2008, that Duggan surpassed $1 million in earnings in a single year.

“You can’t put it into words,” Duggan said. “It’s momentum. When you get going and things start to do well, you think differently and you do things differently. It’s just confidence, you get a bit of confidence.

“We’ll enjoy the good days because we know there’s plenty of bad days along the way,” Duggan added.

Drafted had several bad days from late March 2019 until January when he went winless in 12 starts. He broke that streak with a last-to-first victory in the five-horse Grade 3 Toboggan Stakes in January.

Friday, the Gravesend scratched down from 12 horses to five and again Drafted rallied from last.

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Despite the bevy of scratches, the pace was still legitimate with Bezos running an opening quarter in 22.58 seconds while chased by Little Vic and a slow-starting Morello. Two Three Zone, the surprising 3/2 favorite was fourth with Drafted, six lengths off the pace in last.

Little Vic, under Carlos Olivero seemed to drop back on the turn, but came on again and split horses inside the eighth pole. At the sixteenth pole, it looked like he would hold on but Drafted, four wide, kept coming and got up in time.

Drafted, owned by Dublin Fjord Stables, Racepoint Stables, Kevin Hilbert, and Thomas O’Keefe, completed the six furlongs in 1:10.69 - the slowest of three six-furlong races on the card - and returned $14 as the fourth choice.

Castro likened the late run Drafted gave him Friday to the one he gave him winning the Mr. Prospector Stakes at Monmouth Park in June.

“He always closes really, really hard. When I was that close at the quarter pole I know he always gives me a big effort at the end,” Castro said. “We won at Monmouth the same way. Thank God, today, he the same.”

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Duggan said despite the scratches taking some of the speed out of the race, he wasn’t going to change Drafted’s running style.

“If he gets pace he shows up,” Duggan said. “That’s as good as he is at his age, so you’re not going to change the wheel at this stage.”

Drafted completed his 8-year-old season with four wins from nine starts and earnings of $395,250. He skipped the Fall Highweight on Nov. 26 because “at his age he can’t be going out drinking every weekend,” Duggan said.

Duggan said he would point Drafted to the Grade 3, $150,000 Toboggan on Jan. 28.

Seven of the original 12 horses entered Monday scratched out of the Gravesend.

Greeley and Ben, the 7-2 morning-line favorite, scratched due to a temperature, according to trainer Jeffrey Englehart. Beren scratched to run in Fridays Dave’s Friend Stakes at Laurel Park, where he finished second.

Amundson scratched to run in an allowance here Sunday. Smooth B, Twisted Ride, and Repo Rocks scratched to run in next Wednesday’s $75,000 Blitzen Stakes at Parx, rescheduled from last Wednesday. Synthesis was the other scratch.

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