Illinois-bred stakes go to Dandy Gal, Goneghost, Recount

Stablemates Dandy Gal and Goneghost, and the high-quality sprinter Recount all won $75,000 Illinois-bred stakes races on Saturday, closing day of the short Hawthorne spring race meeting.

Dandy Gal and Goneghost, owned by Bill Stiritz, trained by Scott Becker, and ridden by Chris Emigh, won back-to-back races early on the card, Dandy Gal just edging Go Lady Jay in the Third Chance Handicap, and Goneghost leading all the way in the Milwaukee Avenue Handicap.

Dandy Gal won for the sixth time at Hawthorne, but had been fifth in the 2017 Third Chance and in fact had never won a stakes race before Saturday. Tracking the pace of My Darling Sofia while racing on the outside, Dandy Gal raced gamely to fend off Go Lady Jay, who slipped through along the rail and looked like a winner at the sixteenth pole. Instead, it was Dandy Gal home by a neck, as favored My Mertie, who won this race last year, was third, three-quarters of a length behind Go Lady Jay. Dandy Gal ($7) ran six furlongs on a lively track rated fast in 1:09.56. The 5-year-old mare, a homebred, is by Cherokee Rap out of Dandy Yankee, by Yankee Gentleman.

Five-year-old gelding Goneghost also is a Stiritz homebred by Cherokee Rap, though he is out of the Silver Ghost mare, Ghost White. Goneghost didn’t debut until mid-summer of his 3-year-old season, once ran in a $12,500 conditioned claimer, and didn’t hit his stride until he was 4, but he has become an accomplished and versatile racehorse, capable of sprinting as well as carrying his speed over a route of ground, which he did in the Milwaukee Avenue.

Goneghost quickly made the front under Emigh and laid down legitimate splits of 23.89, 47.63, and 1:11.67 while chased by the graded-stakes-class turf mare Prado’s Sweet Ride. The mare traveled pretty well and at the quarter pole threatened to make a race of it, but Goneghost never let her get within striking range, finishing with good energy to stop the timer in 1:41.67 for the 1 1/16 miles while winning by 2 1/4 lengths. The 2-5 favorite and 123-pound starting highweight, Goneghost paid $2.80 to win. The 4-year-old filly Babybluesbdancing finished a distant third.

Recount’s task in the Robert S. Molaro Handicap was simplified when Richie the Bull, D’Rapper, and Briar’s Gold were scratched, leaving him just two rivals in the six-furlong dirt race. Recount, with Alex Canchari riding for trainer Jim DiVito and owner Doubledown Stables, raced alongside Cashel Rock through splits of 22.32, 45.07, and 57 seconds before drawing away late under a hand ride despite giving 10 pounds to his rival. Recount, the 126-pound highweight as well as the 1-9 favorite, won by one length, clocking 1:09.75 while winning this race for the second year in a row. A 6-year-old gelding, Recount is by Limehouse and out of the Bold Badgett mare Lucky in Love. He ran his career record to 12-7-5 from 34 starts and has been a very useful horse since his 2-year-old season.