Untamed Domain Aims for First Win of Season in Kent

Grade 2 winner Untamed Domain will try to secure his first win of the season July 14, when he starts at Delaware Park for the first time in the $200,000 Kent Stakes (G3T), a 1 1/8-mile turf race that has attracted nine 3-year-olds.

While he has added two graded stakes placings this season, Untamed Domain has failed to reach the winner's circle in four starts. The son of Animal Kingdom  closed his juvenile season with a victory in the Summer Stakes (G2T) on the Woodbine turf and a runner-up finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T) at Del Mar.

This year Untamed Domain finished third in the Dania Beach Stakes (G3T) on the Gulfstream Park turf and second in the American Turf Stakes presented by Ram Trucks (G2T) on the grass at Churchill Downs.

He enters Saturday's test off a fourth-place finish in the Pennine Ridge Stakes (G3T) June 2 at on the Belmont Park inner turf. The top two finishers of the Pennine Ridge, Catholic Boy and Analyze It, came back to again finish first and second, respectively, in the Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T). 

Trained by Graham Motion, West Point Thoroughbreds' Untamed Domain has turned in a pair of works—one on synthetic and one on turf—at the trainer's Fair Hill Training Center base.

With a field that features ample early speed, Untamed Domain figures gets an honest pace. He rallied from fifth to win the Summer, from 13th to finish second in the Juvenile Turf, and from 10th to finish second in the American Turf.

"We hope he'll get a chance to drop back and settle. The times he's runs his best is when he's had the opportunity to do that," said West Point founder Terry Finley. "So we're hoping he has a shot to do that, but there are some really legitimate horses in the field that are on the improve in this spot."

Finley noted that Delaware is a short trip from the Fair Hill base, and while they considered a start in the Belmont Derby, the Kent seemed like a better fit.

"We were really tempted to take a crack at the Belmont Derby, but ultimately thought this would be the better spot overall," Finley said. "It looks like we made a good decision but this is a very evenly matched field.

"He certainly acts like he's the same or better than last year, but he just hasn't put it all together. That's the thing about these turf horses. You look at the races and the vast majority of times there are five lengths that separate eight horses."

Some of those horses coming on include Reddam Racing's Blame the Rider, who ships in from Southern California for trainer Doug O'Neill. Since being moved to turf three starts ago, the son of Jimmy Creed  boasts two wins, including a stakes victory and an additional stakes-placing.

Donegal Racing's Carrick, a son of Giant's Causeway , will make his stakes debut after clear victories in his first two starts: a maiden claiming race on the turf at Belmont and a starter allowance there on the inner turf.

Entries: Kent S. (G3T)

Delaware Park, Saturday, July 14, 2018, Race 8

• Grade IIIT
• 1 1/8m
• Turf
• $200,000
• 3 yo
• 4:56 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Carrick (KY)	John R. Velazquez	116	Thomas Morley	9/2
2	2Hot Springs (KY)	Feargal Lynch	116	Steven M. Asmussen	6/1
3	3Duc de Calas (FR)	Trevor McCarthy	116	Christophe Clement	8/1
4	4Gunnison (KY)	Jevian Toledo	116	Kelly Rubley	10/1
5	5Untamed Domain (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	116	H. Graham Motion	5/2
6	6Golden Brown (NJ)	Jairo Rendon	116	Patrick B. McBurney	15/1
7	7Archaggelos (KY)	Mario G. Pino	116	Michael W. Dickinson	10/1
8	8Blame the Rider (KY)	Mario Gutierrez	120	Doug F. O'Neill	7/2
9	9Way Early (NY)	Kendrick Carmouche	116	George Weaver	8/1