Although Dolomite has been stakes-placed on a couple of occasions around two turns, trainer Chad Brown has come to the conclusion that one turn is where she currently excels. The seven-furlong distance of Thursday’s $90,000 main event at Aqueduct is the primary reason the red-hot New York-bred filly will take on open company once again in the second-level allowance and optional-claiming dash for fillies and mares.
Dolomite, has never finished worse than third in nine career starts, including a third-place finish in the Grade 2 Demoiselle at 2 and a second in the Fleet Indian against statebreds last summer at Saratoga. Both of those races were decided at a mile and one-eighth.
But Dolomite has really put it all together shortening up in distance for her last two outings. She won a second-level allowance dash for New York-breds by six lengths going seven furlongs on April 5 and an open $50,000 optional-claiming and allowance race when turning back to 6 1/2 furlongs in her most recent start, good for a career-best 90 Beyer Speed Figure.
“Looking at her physically, I thought she’d appreciate going around two turns at some point, although actually her best races up to now have been around one,” said Brown, who trains the homebred for Alpha Delta Stables LLC. “She’s really come on pretty well in her last two starts and now we’re looking to get her out of this open-company allowance condition and maybe look at stakes down the road.
“The reason we’re here in this spot is the distance, anywhere from 6 1/2 furlongs to a mile seems to be best for her.”
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Dolomite drew the rail in a field of six with regular rider Manny Franco back aboard.
“Obviously being on the rail is not ideal, especially at this distance,” said Brown. “He [Franco] will just have to work it out.”
Like Dolomite, The Big Calhouna has put together a modest two-race winning streak. She prompted the pace before drawing well clear against lesser allowance competition in each of her last two starts. She also has a 90 Beyer Figure on her résumé, earned for her three-length triumph against $50,000 starter-allowance opposition at Aqueduct on March 23.
The Big Calhouna will likely prompt the expected early pace of Golden Degree, who opened a long early lead before settling for second money under similar conditions six weeks earlier. The field also includes her recently stakes-placed stablemate Tripple, the very consistent Cupid’s Heart, and New York-bred stakes winner Tricky Temper.
Casse runners breeze
Trainer Mark Casse sent out Win for the Money and Nitrogen, two members of his extremely potent stable of turf stakes winners, to breeze over the grass at the Oklahoma training track on Monday. Both runners are readying for upcoming assignments at Saratoga July 4 weekend.
Win for the Money, idle since his seventh-place finish in the Pegasus World Cup Turf at Gulfstream Park in January, turned in an eye-catching five furlongs in 59.06 seconds, per Daily Racing Form, before galloping out six panels working inside the dogs in in 1:11.64. Nitrogen, on the other hand, breezed a very easy half-mile in 52.50.
Win for the Money recently shipped to Saratoga from Casse’s farm in Ocala, where he has been prepping for his return in the Grade 3 Kelso on July 5.
“We gave him a break after the Pegasus, he went to Live Oak for a little while before joining us on the farm, and although I don’t have a good reason why, I kind of feel like he’s trained better than ever since that last start,” said Casse.
Nitrogen has won her last five starts, including the off-the-turf Wonder Again by 17 lengths when defeating just two rivals making her main track debut here on June 7. The performance has Casse thinking about putting her back on dirt a second time here later this summer.
“I told the rider to go slow this morning and he did,” said Casse. “I know she worked real fast before her last start but that’s because another team broke off in front of her. It wasn’t planned. That’s what makes her so good. She will not go unless you ask her to go.”
Casse said he was surprised Nitrogen only earned a 91 Beyer for her victory in the Wonder Again.
“I know it was a tough race to make a number for, the small field and wet track, but they ran the Met Mile about an hour later and she ran only a fifth of a second slower than they did.”
Raging Torrent received a 106 Beyer for his victory in the Met Mile.
Casse said Nitrogen will return to turf for the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational on July 5 with the Grade 1 Alabama currently penciled in on her schedule going 1 1/4 miles on the main track Aug. 16.
Casse also advised that Sandman, whose lone breeze since his third-place finish in the Preakness came here on June 8, is scheduled to work again here either Wednesday or Thursday morning.
“We did a little chiropractic work on him, but he hasn’t missed a day of training and we’re ready to start cranking him up now for the Jim Dandy [July 26],” Casse said.
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