Dynamic One seeks another move forward in Suburban
ELMONT, N.Y. – In 2018, after Vino Rosso had an inconsistent 3-year-old campaign that ended with a nine-length defeat in the Travers, his connections put him away for the remainder of the year to let the horse develop and mature.
Trainer Todd Pletcher and owners Mike Repole and Vinnie Viola were rewarded when Vino Rosso had a successful 4-year-old campaign in 2019 that included victories in the Gold Cup at Santa Anita and Breeders’ Cup Classic and ended with an Eclipse Award as champion older dirt male.
Thus far, a similar plan seems to be working with Dynamic One, who seeks his most prestigious victory to date when he runs as part of a five-horse field going 1 1/4 miles in Saturday’s Grade 2, $400,000 Suburban Stakes at Belmont Park.
At 3, Dynamic One got beat a head when second in the Wood Memorial, finished 18th in the Kentucky Derby and won the Curlin Stakes at Saratoga. After finishing last in the Travers, Dynamic One was put away with a 4-year-old campaign in mind.
After a third in the Challenger Stakes at Tampa and a second in the Grade 3 Ben Ali at Keeneland, Dynamic One won the Blame Stakes on June 4 at Churchill Downs.
“He’s a horse we’ve always had high hopes for; he’s always trained like a good horse,” Pletcher said. “Just felt like he needed some time to grow up and mature. Time did him well, he’s come back and each race has been a little better than the one before. Hopefully, he keeps continuing on that trend.”
Irad Ortiz Jr. rides Dynamic One, who gets six pounds from 2021 Suburban winner Max Player.
Pletcher also will send out Untreated in the Suburban. Untreated is coming off a third-place finish in the Pimlico Special, where he found himself on the lead. That wasn’t necessarily the plan that day, Pletcher said, but that style could serve him well Saturday in a seemingly paceless Suburban.
“I don’t see a lot pace in this race,” Pletcher said. “We’ll let him get in a rhythm and see how it goes.”
Max Player won last year’s Suburban and the Jockey Club Gold by laying close to the pace. He finished last in the Alysheba at Churchill and sixth of seven in the Brooklyn here June 11. A recent workout from the gate may have been done with the idea having him be a little more forward in the Suburban.
First Captain, third to Dynamic One in last year’s Curlin Stakes, enters the Suburban off a breakthrough victory in the Grade 3 Pimlico Special, where he rallied to beat Vindication by a head. That race came with blinkers on for the first time.
Trainer Shug McGaughey has been pointing First Captain to this race since then in large part due to the 1 1/4-mile distance and the colt’s 3-for-3 record here, which includes a victory in the Grade 3 Dwyer.
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“He’s trained really well here,” McGaughey said. “He’s always run well here. The distance should be in his favor. If there’s not a lot of pace, I don’t think he’ll be out the back.”
Forewarned, a six-time stakes winner and earner of $873,883, completes the field.
The Suburban goes as race 4 on an 11-race card that includes the twin Grade 1 turf stakes of the Belmont Derby and Belmont Oaks as well as the Grade 3 Victory Ride for 3-year-old sprinting fillies.