Champagne Runner-Up Talkin Tops Remsen Field

The 2023 edition of the Remsen Stakes (G2) featured a dramatic stretch duel between Dornoch   and Sierra Leone  .

Dornoch, who had stakes experience for trainer Danny Gargan, won by a nose over the Chad Brown-trained Sierra Leone, a seven-figure yearling who was exiting a debut maiden win.

Less than a year later, both horses were multiple grade 1 winners as Dornoch won the Belmont Stakes (G1) and Sierra Leone captured the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) en route to the 3-year-old male championship.

On Dec. 6, the $250,000 Remsen will feature a similar storyline among a field of 12 2-year-olds.

This time Gargan will send out Champagne Stakes (G1) runner-up Talkin  to face Brown's $1.9 million debut winner Paladin  in the battle among juveniles traveling a two-turn, 1 1/8-mile distance on dirt for the first time.

"It could come down to my horse and Chad's again," said Gargan, who will be seeking a third Remsen win since 2022. "The only difference is this time, his horse will be in front and mine will be coming at him."

While matching the heroics of Dornoch and Sierra Leone at 3 will be an extremely tall order, both Talkin and Paladin could put major 3-year-old preps on their agenda with strong efforts Saturday at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, Pine Racing Stables, Legendary Thoroughbreds, Belmar Racing and Breeding, and R. A. Hill Stable's Talkin put his potential on display when the Good Magic   colt followed up a narrow debut win by finishing second to Napoleon Solo  in a swiftly contested edition of the mile Champagne.

Immediately after the Oct. 4 stakes, Gargan said he would skip the Breeders' Cup and point to the Remsen, and two months later the son of the Tiznow  mare Rote bred by Fifth Avenue Bloodstock is primed for his return to the races.

"He's doing great. He has a tough post (11) but he doesn't have to win this race," Gargan said about the $600,000 yearling buy. "He's a really talented horse and we think he's going to get better at 3. We're trying to keep him fit and hopefully he can win a big one next year."

Though Dornoch and Talkin are both sons of Good Magic, Gargan said the two are similar only in their markings.

"They are different. Dornoch was more of a take-control-of-the-race type. Talkin is more laid back," Gargan said. "They are not alike other than they look alike. He's like a smaller version of Dornoch. Same markings, same eyes."

Paladin, owned by Peter Brant, the Coolmore partners, Brook Smith, and breeder Summer Wind Equine, did not cross the wire first in his Oct. 17 debut. The Gun Runner   colt finished second by a head at a one-turn mile after showing speed throughout but was awarded the victory when Renegade  (who is also entered in the Remsen) was disqualified and placed second for drifting out and bumping Paladin in the stretch.

"He was an expensive yearling who was a beauty, and that hasn't changed. He's really grown into himself and he looks magnificent right now. I think he has a bright future ahead of him," said Brown, whose lone Remsen win came in 2014.

Three-time Remsen winner Todd Pletcher will send out a trio of starters in Renegade, who is still a maiden after two starts; Grittiness , who is also a maiden; and Whisper Hill Farm, breeder Stonestreet Stables, and Windancer Farm's $5 million yearling buy Courting , who is exiting a win in his second career start. Courting, a Curlin colt, is a full brother to multiple grade 1 winner Clairiere .

The Remsen will also offer 10-5-3-2-1 Kentucky Derby (G1) qualifying points to the top 5 finishers as part of the Road to the Kentucky Derby.