Dunbar Road Prevails in Sloppy Alabama Stakes
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Photo: Skip Dickstein/Tim Lanahan
Dunbar Road wins the Alabama Stakes at Saratoga Race Course
All's well that ends well.
Owner Peter Brant and trainer Chad Brown did not get a chance to run Dunbar Road in the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1), but three and a half months later, time healed that wound on a soggy afternoon at Saratoga Race Course.
The filly who was the 5-1 second choice on the Kentucky Oaks morning line but did not have enough qualifying points to run made up for that disappointment Aug. 17 when she stormed to an impressive victory over Point of Honor in the $600,000 Alabama Stakes (G1).
"Right after the race," Brant said, "Chad told me she would have won the Kentucky Oaks."
Judging by what happened in the Alabama—the midsummer complement to the Kentucky Oaks for 3-year-old fillies—it's hard to dispute that contention.
"Peter's a very patient owner, and he said he thought this was more of an Alabama horse," Brown said. "He was right."
While the Kentucky Oaks would have been just the third start for the 3-year-old Quality Road filly, in only her fifth outing Dunbar Road handled the rigors of a grueling 1 1/4-mile distance on a sloppy (sealed) track with supreme class. She rallied at least six wide on the final turn and drew clear in the final furlong to win by 2 3/4 lengths.
"Somebody asked me why I bought two Quality Road fillies last week at The Saratoga Sale," Brant said. "This is why."
The conditions for the Alabama took a dramatic turn in the previous race at Saratoga when a thunderstorm hit the Spa during the running of the Lake Placid Stakes (G2T), turning the main track sloppy and delaying the start of the race by about 11 minutes.
Champagne Anyone, who kept Dunbar Road out of the Kentucky Oaks by beating her in the Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2), dueled with Ulele for the early lead through fractions of :48.97 and 1:13.43, but leaving the quarter pole a string of horses surged past them.
Point of Honor moved five wide for the lead entering the stretch, with Street Band rallying inside of her, but Dunbar Road, who rallied widest in the field of eight, flew past them approaching the quarter pole and drew off under a well-timed ride by Jose Ortiz, who collected a third consecutive Alabama win.
"I was a little wide, but I didn't want to be a hero and try to split horses. I felt like I had a lot of horse. She's special. We knew the mile and a quarter would help her," Ortiz said. "My goal is to go to the Hall of Fame, and to go to the Hall of Fame, I have to win these types of races."
Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Stetson's Racing's Curlin filly Point of Honor, the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (G2) winner who was second to Guarana earlier in the meet in the Coaching Club American Oaks (G1), took second by a nose over Street Band.
Paul Pompa Jr.'s Off Topic, who was third in the CCA Oaks, was another 5 3/4 lengths back in fourth.
The victory was the third straight for Dunbar Road, who paid $5.50 to win as the 8-5 favorite. The filly was exiting a 2 1/2-length victory in the Mother Goose Stakes (G2) at Belmont Park.
"Chad did a great job training her from a mile and a sixteenth (in the Mother Goose) to a mile and a quarter. That's not an easy thing to do," Brant said.
While the Kentucky Oaks is a significant prize for any horseman, living in Connecticut and having his stable based in New York for much of the year gave Brant additional satisfaction from winning the Alabama for the first time since Spit Curl prevailed in 1983.
"I was happy we didn't go to the Oaks because I thought that was really too much, too soon," Brant said. "Chad liked her so much in that race, but when you're a New Yorker, winning the Alabama is very special."
It was the first Alabama victory for Brown, and the three-time Eclipse Award winner credited his barn crew for their work in turning the daughter of the Bernardini mare Gift List into the winner of a grade 1 stakes in a little more than 5 1/2 months of racing.
"Our team has done a great job with her. Her exercise rider, Kriss Bon, has done a terrific job with her, and he gets along very well. He's worked her just about every time," Brown said. "I always thought she had the potential to run in these types of races and win."
While some might believe Saturday's victory put Dunbar Road atop her division, others might wonder if she's the best 3-year-old filly in Brown's barn. He also trains undefeated, multiple grade 1-winning Guarana, a Ghostzapper filly who will race next in the $1 million Cotillion Stakes (G1) Sept. 21 at Parx Racing.
"Dunbar Road and Guarana are very close. I think Guarana's best distance is up to a mile and an eighth, and Dunbar Road showed today she can run farther than that. We're in a fortunate position to have both fillies in the barn," said Brown, who was uncertain of future plans for Dunbar Road.
Dunbar Road, bred in Kentucky by Jeffery Drown and purchased for $350,000 by Brant's White Birch Farm at the 2017 Keeneland September Yearling Sale from the Indian Creek consignment, has earned $587,900 with four wins and a second in five starts. Her dam produced a Speightstown filly in 2017 named On the Good List, who was her last reported foal.