Mage's Full Brother Dornoch Tops 10 in Remsen

Considering it has yet to happen in the first 149 runnings of the Kentucky Derby (G1), the odds that full brothers can win the Run for the Roses are astronomical in one regard.

Then again, this past weekend the odds of it happening in 2024 were placed at 19-1 and they could drop even lower by the time next week rolls around.

In the Dec. 2 $250,000 Remsen Stakes (G2) for 2-year-olds, Aqueduct Racetrack will shine a spotlight on what could be a historic bid for Triple Crown glory.

Through the presence of Dornoch  in Saturday's field of 10, some prized bloodlines will be put through a major mile-and-an-eighth test that could enhance the hopes of a rare breeding double.

As a son of Good Magic   out of the Big Brown   mare Puca, Dornoch is a full brother to this year's Kentucky Derby winner Mage  , who was also bred by Grandview Equine.

Already stakes-placed after three career starts, Dornoch is exiting an impressive Oct. 14 maiden special weight victory in a 1 1/16-mile test at Keeneland that has trainer Danny Gargan believing he has a major player, not just for the Remsen, a race that produced 2022 Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Mo Donegal  , but for the 3-year-old classics as well.

"It's going to be a solid field and we don't have to win," Gargan said about the colt priced at 19-1 in last week's Kentucky Derby Future Wager. "This is a stepping stone and I just want him to have a clean trip. If he gets one, he's the horse to beat. I'm not worried about the distance. I'm just worried about somebody getting in his way. If he runs like he's training, someone will have to run a big race to beat him."

Dornoch, owned by West Paces Racing, Randy Hill, Belmar Racing and Breeding, Two Eight Racing, and Pine Racing Stables, started his career with a runner-up finish in a July 29 maiden race at Saratoga Race Course run at 6 1/2  furlongs in the slop. He then finished second again in the mile Sapling Stakes at Monmouth Park when he endured a wide, troubled trip and made an aggressive but premature bid for the lead.

"He's really talented. He's a 2-year-old who is going to be a better 3-year-old. So, we'd love to see him run big Saturday, but we're more focused on seeing what happens next year," Gargan said.

Gargan knows what it takes to win the Remsen as he saddled last year's winner, Dubyuhnell , who missed this year's Triple Crown.

"He's way more talented than Dubyuhnell," he said.

Dornoch, who has earned $119,900, was purchased for $325,000 from the Runnymede Farm consignment at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale some four months before Mage made his career debut.

Much has changed since then, convincing Gargan that John Stewart came away with a bargain when he privately purchased Puca for $2.9 million earlier this month after the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.

"I think that was the best mare purchase of the year," Gargan said. "She's young (11) and will have five or six foals that will sell for more than a million dollars. That was the best purchase I've ever seen."

Dornoch isn't the only starter with a regal pedigree as the Remsen will serve as the stakes debut for Sierra Leone , a son of Gun Runner   who was the $2.3 million sale topper at The Saratoga Sale, Fasig-Tipton's New York Sale of Selected Yearlings.

Owned by Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg, Rocket Ship Racing, and Peter Brant, he won his Nov. 4 debut at the Big A for trainer Chad Brown, rallying from sixth in a mile test.

"He wasn't fully cranked for that race," Browen said. "He's highly regarded. He's quite a nice and exciting prospect. I'm curious to see how he develops. He certainly has my full attention."

Sierra Leone (36-1 Future Wager) was bred by Debby Oxley out of the Malibu Moon mare Heavenly Love.

Brown will also send out Klaravich Stables' Domestic Product  (114-1 Future Wager), a homebred son of Practical Joke   who scored by 4 1/2 lengths in his second start while covering the same nine-furlong distance at Aqueduct as the Remsen.

"He came home fast and showed a lot of quality to stretch out that far in his second start. I am very impressed with him," Brown said.

Other top threats include Moonlight  (87-1 Future Wager), an Audible   colt who was second in the Street Sense Stakes (G3) for trainer Todd Pletcher; Nashua Stakes winner Where's Chris  (48-1 Future Wager), a Twirling Candy   colt trained by Rick Dutrow; Billal  (138-1 Future Wager), a $725,000 Street Sense   colt who was third for trainer Bill Mott in the Nashua; and Drum Roll Please  (Hard Spun  , 140-1 Future Wager), a recent maiden winner for trainer Brad Cox.

As part of the Road to the Kentucky Derby series, the top five finishers will receive 10-5-3-2-1 qualifying points.