Split-Second Decision Opened Breeders’ Cup Door for 2-Year-Old Dakota Gold and His Owners

Typically you simply take a look at a horse and you realize. That’s it. Within the horse racing enterprise, one should usually belief their intestine intuition. In 2010, Dean Reeves was reviewing a race and his intuition informed him to speculate not within the horse who gained however within the horse who got here in second. That horse was Mucho Macho Man, who had a really thrilling profession and gained the 2013 Breeders’ Cup Traditional in a dramatic photograph end.

In 2019, Dean and his wife, Patti, had simply arrived for the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Fall Sale. He determined to move to the gross sales ring for a fast look. Reeves stated, “Once I walked in, Jimmy Gladwell was already horses. I walked up proper when he was trying on the colts. I appeared on the horse and stated, ‘Jimmy! We’ve got bought to purchase this one!’

“It was that fast. It didn’t take me 5 seconds to say I like this one. That is what we’re searching for. Then we appeared over and noticed a filly. Jimmy stated what about her? I stated, ‘We’ll take her too!’ That’s precisely the sort of horse we need to purchase. So, it’s nonetheless that method for me. I get a sense for them.” Reeves has continued to hone his skill to pick future expertise. The weanling that he bought for $83,000 is Dakota Gold who can be racing Nov. 5 within the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.

Bred in New York by Sequel Thoroughbreds and Ron Bowden, Dakota Gold is by Freud and out of Bowden’s mare Dakota Child. Bowden says with nice satisfaction that there’s a lot of depth to Dakota Gold.  His dam “was destined to be an important runner however was sidelined. I’ve proved her worth by way of breeding. I feel that Dakota Gold goes to be greater than a shock. I wouldn’t underrate him.” He continued to develop enthusiastically that “Dakota Gold is proving the worth of this mare. The desk has been set; Dean Reeves has purchased all 4 of her foals. One after one other! They’re beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!”

Dakota Gold was foaled, raised, sales-prepped and consigned by way of the New Hill Farm in Hoosick Falls, N.Y. It’s a boutique Thoroughbred operation based by Lili Kobielski’s mother and father within the early ’80s. Now the proprietor and supervisor, Kobielski stated they common 50-60 horses, together with Dakota Gold’s dam, Dakota Child (who has produced a Mucho Macho Man foal this yr.)

She is of course happy with Dakota Gold. “From day one, we knew he was good. He has at all times been stunning. He got here out trying like a rocket ship. You possibly can see the hind finish on him. He was completely the boss within the subject at a really younger age. His mama is an alpha mare. So, he adopted swimsuit. He’s additionally very good. He took all the pieces in stride as we began sales-prepping him. We bought him on the Saratoga Fall Sale as a weanling. That’s a worrying setting particularly for a little bit child. He was so fashionable. He was proven on a regular basis; usually with a giant crowd round him. He fully ate it up! He bought higher in the course of the sale. He has an important presence about him. He actually appeared to feed off the eye. I’m under no circumstances stunned that he has turned out to be a star already. He has a ravishing stroll, and he travels in an athletic method. It’s not a shock that he can run given his presence, intelligence, and motion.”

Reeves is having fun with his enterprise mannequin of buying the nicest weanlings he should buy. “It offers us an opportunity to groom them as we see match whereas they’re introduced alongside and educated whereas we watch them. We get them began early and see if they’ve any expertise. This has been fabulous.”

Reeves relationship with coach Danny Gargan began with Tax in a partnership between Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, R. A. Hill Steady, and Hugh Lynch. Tax gained the Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga in 2019 and the Harlan’s Vacation Stakes at Gulfstream in 2020. As well as, he competed in 2019 within the Wooden Memorial Stakes Offered by NYRA Bets, the Kentucky Derby Offered by Woodford Reserve, the Belmont Stakes, and the Runhappy Travers Stakes.

“Danny is an efficient coach and enjoyable to be round. I divvy up my horses within the Spring [to various trainers] and I assumed this horse [Dakota Gold] was the precise one for Danny. As he bought able to race, we knew he was good on the turf. He ran open firm on the filth and gained that race. I used to be pondering of one other filth race, however Danny stated, ‘He’s higher on the turf’ and talked about the $500,000 Nownownow Stakes for 2-year-olds at Monmouth.” Dakota Gold gained by 2 ½ lengths. Gargan had requested Reeves if he would let him run within the Breeders’ Cup. Reeves responded, “Danny – if we win this race, I’ll put him within the Breeders’ Cup.”

Reeves is thrilled with Dakota Gold. “He has developed right into a very nice 2-year-old. He’s constructed nicely with good bodily construction and has a reasonably blaze. He’s a really decided horse. We began to see that in a few of his breezes. He made it look straightforward. He actually needed to outwork the horse he was with.

“He doesn’t get too riled up about something. He does his job, and he likes to get on the market to compete. He’s been a enjoyable horse. He’s nice to be round. You possibly can stand up to him and pet him. He’s laid again till he will get on the monitor after which he’s actually decided. He’s able to run.”

Danny Gargan grew up in horse racing. His father was a jockey (additionally named Danny Gargan) who gained the Kentucky Oaks in 1973 on Bag of Tunes for the C.V. Whitney Stables. Gargan was a jockey’s agent for eight years. He began as a coach solely eight years in the past with two horses. Along with his success with Tax, Gargan educated Divine Miss Gray who gained the Chilukki Stakes at Churchill Downs in 2018.

“It feels good to be on the Breeders’ Cup!” You possibly can hear the satisfaction in Gargan’s voice as he talks about Dakota Gold. “We’re excited to be right here. He’s a reasonably straight-forward horse. He’s extra a fiery sort and a little bit spunky. He’s like a little bit boy. He needs what he needs when he needs it. Coaching-wise, he’s at all times been fairly good. He’s actual athletic with a burst of pace when he wants it.”

Is it instinct or years of expertise that drives success in horse racing? It’s usually a mixture of each. The fantastic thing about the Breeders’ Cup is the expertise and depth of the fields. The horses are distinctive. They’ve house owners and trainers who imagine in them. They’re nurtured by their train riders, grooms, and jockeys. It begins with the late-night goals of a breeder who research nicks and potential sires. Typically, it takes a look from a possible proprietor to know {that a} horse has a future of their racing secure. It’s the great thing about horse racing the place something could be potential. One clever look and the door is open to the long run, particularly for a younger horse named Dakota Gold.