Dakota Gold cruises to front-running victory in Wednesday’s Cab Calloway division of the New York Stallion Series Stakes. NYRA Photo.
By Timothy Littau
Dakota Gold gave Reeves Thoroughbred Racing its fifth stakes and eighth victory overall at the 2022 Saratoga Race Course meeting in Wednesday’s Cab Calloway division of the New York Stallion Stakes Series.
“Eight winners all together. I remember the days when I begged for just one win up here, and that wasn’t that far back,” Dean Reeves said with a laugh after Dakota Gold scored a gate-to-wire win in the Cab Calloway. “It’s been unbelievable, but there was a lot of work done by a lot of good people on our team before we got here.
“They’ve done a lot of work preparing these horses, they gave them a lot of time off and then when they got here, our trainers just did a great job of getting them ready for these races and we were really gunning for Saratoga. That’s when I’m going to be here, and we want to run and win some races here.”
Dakota Gold, a son of Freud ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., led the field of eight every step of the way in the $150,000 mile stakes on the inner turf. Second by a head in the $125,000 Rick Violette Stakes July 21, Dakota Gold avenged that with a 1-length win in 1:37.20 over the firm turf.
“We played around with the field last time and it got me beat,” winning trainer Danny Gargan said. “I couldn’t take that chance today. He’s a little better if he stalks, but I didn’t want to take any chances today. Let’s just go and get it out of the way – that was our plan and it worked out. Next time, we’ll try the open company and I probably won’t send him [to the lead], it depends on the pace scenario.”
Dean Reeves is thrilled with the New York-bred program and the success that he has had in it, and is investing for the long-run.
“We think this is a great program and we will continue to buy New York-breds,” he said. “We bought a lot of nice ones at this past sale (Aug. 14-15), and we bought some as weanlings a year ago that we’re excited about. So, we should be pretty tough next year.”
In the short-term, Gargan is excited for Dakota Gold’s next start.
“There’s a race at Keeneland (Grade 3 $300,000 Bryan Station Oct. 29) that I’m looking at,” he said. “There’s a race at Aqueduct (Grade 2, $300,000 Hill Prince Oct. 22). There’s a couple of different options. He could show up at Keeneland going a mile for straight 3-year-olds. I’ll get with the team and think of our next plan. We’ll try something a little different, but I think he’s better at a mile.”
After that, lofty goals – Grade 1 goals – are in store for Dakota Gold.
“The Hollywood Derby (in November) is where we’re going to end the year,” Gargan said. “We’ll go to there, a straight 3-year-old race. He’s only 3, we’ll see where he ends up in his 4-year-old career. But this year we’re only going to keep him against 3-year-olds and after that Hollywood Derby he’ll go back to the farm in Ocala like we did last year, give him a couple months off and try to keep doing this again for another year.”
Freud, a full brother to Giant’s Causeway and 24-year-old son of Storm Cat, stands for $5,000 at Sequel Stallions New York in Hudson.
An $83,000 purchase by Reeves Thoroughbred Racing at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga fall mixed sale, Dakota Gold boosted his earnings to $575,000 with Wednesday’s.
Bred by Sequel Thoroughbreds and Ron Bowden, Dakota Gold was foaled at The New Hill Farm in Hoosick Falls and consigned by that operation when he sold for $83,000 as a weaning at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga fall mixed sale.
Dakota Gold is one of three foals to run out of the Lemon Drop Kid mare Dakota Kid, who is a half-sister to Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Dakota Phone and stakes-placed Black Hills Goldie. Each of Dakota Gold’s first five dams are stakes producers with his third dam also winning four career stakes races.
Dakota Kid has a New York-bred juvenile colt by Redesdale named Ramblin’ Wreck, who was purchased by Reeves Thoroughbred Racing for $140,0000 from The New Hill Farm at last year’s Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-bred yearling sale. He finished sixth in his debut for Gargan, Reeves Thoroughbred Partners and Peter and Patty Searles Aug 11 at Saratoga. She foaled a New York-bred Mucho Macho Man colt in May 2021 and wasn’t bred in 2022.
