Mo Donegal outlasts Zandon, takes Remsen by nose
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Inside the eighth pole of the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct on Saturday, it looked as though Mo Donegal was going to sail right on by Zandon. But the latter battled back and the two slugged it out to the wire with Mo Donegal winning a fortunate bob to win the $250,000 Remsen by a nose.
Mo Donegal, under Irad Ortiz Jr., had to withstand a claim of foul from John Velazquez, the rider of Zandon. Though the two brushed - and Ortiz’s left elbow may have grazed Zandon’s head - the stewards deemed it happened right on the wire and let the order of finish stand.
“We had a little contact, but it was right at the wire, maybe after the wire,” Ortiz said.
Chad Brown, the trainer of Zandon who coincidentally uses Ortiz on many of his top horses - did not see it that way.
“Horse should have come down, more of the same here,” Brown said. “My horse got beat an inch. I guess you can do whatever you want to do out there.”
Both Mo Donegal and Zandon gave their connections something to look forward to in 2022. Mo Donegal, a son of Uncle Mo, won for the second time in three starts and validated trainer Todd Pletcher’s belief that the horse will improve with added distance.
Mo Donegal was receiving a ground-saving trip under Ortiz, who then had to tip him out four wide at the top of the lane. Zandon, stretching out from a single six-furlong race to nine furlongs, raced three wide under Velazquez down the backstretch.
Zandon overtook longshot Midnight Chrome inside the three-sixteenths pole, and battled back when Mo Donegal came to him on the outside.
“My horse ran a good race - a winning race,” Velazquez said. “Right at the sixteenth pole, [Mo Donegal] got on top of me and I just missed. He laid on top of me right before the wire and just beat me by very little.”
Mo Donegal, owned by Jerry Crawford’s Donegal Racing, covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:53.61 and returned $4.90 as the second choice.
Pletcher, watching the replay on the infield screen that was made into four smaller screens during the inquiry, said he couldn’t tell where the bumping occurred.
“Irad did say it was right at the wire,” Pletcher said.
Pletcher said when Ortiz moved him to the outside, he fanned out wider than he anticipated.
“He lost a little bit of ground there and it looked like when he got [the lead], he was still kind of figuring it out, how to polish it off,” Pletcher said.
Brown, though upset with the non-disqualification, said he was proud of the way his horse ran considering he had just the one six-furlong race under his belt.
“From six to a mile and an eighth - he was the best horse in the race, it’s just disappointing,” Brown said. “He’s a nice horse and we’ll continue on and train towards the Derby. He’s good enough.”
Zandon finished 9 3/4 lengths clear of Midnight Chrome in third. Mr Jefferson was fourth, followed by Eloquist, Who Hoo That’s Me, Fromanothamutha and Judge Davis.
The top four finishers from the Remsen earned qualifying points toward the 2022 Kentucky Derby on a 10-4-2-1 basis.
Both Mo Donegal and Zandon are expected to head to South Florida in the coming week to prepare for their 3-year-old season.
Nest gives Pletcher his 7th Demoiselle
In the race immediately following the Remsen, Nest outlasted Venti Valentine and Magic Circle to the wire to win the Grade 2, $250,000 Demoiselle Stakes by a neck. Venti Valentine was second by three-quarters of a length over Magic Circle.
In addition to a four-to-five-wide trip all the way around, Nest had to withstand a stewards’ inquiry into the stretch run. But it was quickly determined that third-place finisher Magic Circle came out in deep stretch and caused some crowding that involved the top two finishers.
Pletcher went into the Demoiselle confident Nest could get the 1 1/8 miles. He became more impressed by the filly with how wide she had to travel throughout under Irad Ortiz Jr., who had her widest of all down the backside and into the stretch.
“She took the Overland Route all the way around there,” Pletcher said. “She was never able to tuck in and save any ground and stayed on determinedly.”
Nest, a daughter of Curlin owned by Mike Repole, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, and Michael House, covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:55.07 and returned $5.50 as the favorite.
It was the seventh victory in the Demoiselle for Pletcher, who won it last year with Malathaat, who this year went on to win the Kentucky Oaks and Alabama.
Though she suffered her first defeat in three starts, Venti Valentine gave her connections something to work with in the future. Trainer Jorge Abreu said his filly had her momentum stopped when Magic Circle came out under jockey Manny Franco’s left-handed whip at the eighth pole.
“I’m pretty thrilled with the way she ran,” Abreu said. “She was training that way. I expected her to run that kind of race.”
Magic Circle finished third by three-quarters of a length. Nostalgic finished fourth, followed by Tap the Faith, Full Count Felicia, and Miss Interpret. Golden Essence was pulled up by jockey Dexter Haddock at the three-eighths pole and the filly was vanned off.