Doppelganger Rallies to Deliver Carter Surprise
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Photo: Coglianese Photos/Janet Garaguso
Doppelganger wins the Carter Handicap at Aqueduct Racetrack
When Tom Ryan and "The Avengers" sales syndicate descended on the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Showcase, Ryan saw something familiar in a son of Into Mischief out of the Quiet American mare Twice the Lady .
"He's one of the most spectacular animals you will lay eyes on," Tom Ryan of SF Racing and racing manager of the large partnership headed by SF, Starlight Racing, and Madaket Stables, said about the colt. "We felt he was the spitting image of Authentic ."
All of which explains why the colt, bought by the group for $570,000 from the Woodford Thoroughbreds consignment, was later named Doppelganger .
Of course, there is a huge difference between looks and results. Authentic won the Kentucky Derby (G1) and Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) in 2020 on his way to Horse of the Year honors.
Meanwhile, Doppelganger won his Dec. 11, 2021 debut at Los Alamitos Race Course for trainer Bob Baffert but lost his next six starts before he was shipped cross-country to a new barn.
Yet on April 8, when Maryland-based trainer Brittany Russell made a bold move to test Doppelganger in top-level company, the two horses had another bond besides their looks.
Rallying from fifth in the final furlong, Doppelganger notched a 17-1 upset in taking the $300,000 Carter Handicap (G1) by 1 1/4 lengths over 4-5 favorite Repo Rocks at Aqueduct Racetrack in the first grade 1 stakes of the year in New York.
"We always thought a lot of him. It's gratifying to see him display what we always thought was in him," Ryan said. "One wins a seven-furlong grade 1, the other wins the Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Classic, but I'm glad they both showed they are grade 1-winning animals. I'm sure a grade 1-winning son of Into Mischief like Doppelganger will be in demand with breeders."
The Carter marked the third start since the 4-year-old Doppelganger was shipped to the East Coast to Russell's stable and his third win after a pair of allowance-level wins at Laurel Park for his new trainer.
"All of my interactions with Brittany have been informative," Ryan said. "Each time I talk to her I learned something more about our horses. She's a very good horseman and very good communicator. She's also clearly willing to take a shot. Some people may have thought running the horse in the Carter was a head-scratcher."
The victory was the first grade 1 win and second graded stakes victory for Russell, one of the top trainers on the Mid-Atlantic circuit who has a success rate of 25% with 281 wins from 1,132 starts since beginning her career in 2018.
"I watched it here from home. We were going crazy. It's huge," Russell said about her initial grade 1. "The fact that we were able to run him (in the allowance races), this horse thinks he's on top of the world. He doesn't know what races he won. He just had a lot of confidence and trained well."
Just two of the six Carter competitors were existing graded stakes winners, both in grade 3s, following the scratch of 2022 Florida Derby (G1) winner White Abarrio due to a fever.
The early pace in the Carter featured a three-pronged duel between Today's Flavor , Expressman , and Little Vic as they battled through fractions of :22.40 and :44.84. Those quick splits caught up with them in the stretch as they came back to the field with Repo Rocks, who was fourth behind the battling leaders, looming boldly on the outside.
Doppelganger and his connections celebrate his win in the Carter Handicap at Aqueduct
Yet jockey Jevian Toledo on Doppelganger ($37.80) was moving even better and swung five wide in the final eighth to commence a strong rally that carried him to the front with 70 yards left. Carrying 118 pounds, Doppelganger crossed the wire in 1:23.25 to give Toledo his first grade 1 win.
"Toledo has done a great job with him," Ryan said.
The win was fourth in 10 starts for Doppelganger and lifted his earnings to $442,400 for an ownership group that also includes Robert Masterson, Jay Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital, Catherine Donovan, Golconda Stable, and Siena Farm.
Double B Racing Stable's Repo Rocks, the 122-pound highweight who was seeking a fifth straight win since moving to trainer Jamie Ness' barn, was second. The Tapiture gelding nosed out St. Elias Stable's Expressman, a Liam's Map 4-year-old trained by Todd Pletcher.
"I was very impressed with him down the lane. He had every reason to give up. He was so much the best in his last four starts and today he really had to try. He still gave his effort to be second even though it wasn't his day," said Andrew Wolfsont, who rode Repo Rocks. "I was very happy with my position behind the front three. We were getting out a bit on the turn. All I could do was keep my path and let him run his race."
Doppelganger is the third of five foals from Twice the Lady and her first graded stales winner. She has produced three winners with a 2023 Improbable colt her most recent foal.