Piloted by Jamie Theriot, Dublin overcame a
|
One Note Samba (Grand Reward) and Flatter Than Me (Flatter) provided the
early pace of the Hopeful, alternating through splits of :22 and :44 4/5, but
the Hopeful wound up being dominated by closers. Aspire (Tale of the Cat) and
Aikenite (Yes It’s True), who finished second and third, respectively, were
still racing in 10th and 11th after a half-mile, while fourth-placer Backtalk
(Smarty Jones) was near the back after the first call before making a gradual
five-wide advancement. None of them, however, came close to challenging Dublin,
who joined other Lukas trainees Deposit Ticket (1990), Salt Lake (1991),
Hennessy (1995), High Yield (1999) and Yonaguska (dead-heat winner in 2000) as
Hopeful winners.
“I expected him to run well,” Lukas said. “He had a good month up here since
his maiden win. Jamie said he was green in the stretch, but that’s the first
time he’s really knuckled down on him. We’ve never really asked him to lay it
down in the morning.
“He’s pretty gifted. I feel like he’s going to develop. This was my number
one pick in the sales. I still haven’t lost my eye in that part.”
Aspire, a debut winner at Saratoga on August 12, was 1 1/2 lengths clear at
8-1 and gave back $8.40 and $8.20, while Aikenite was a half-length up on
Backtalk and paid $10.40 at 20-1. The exacta paid $91, the trifecta $1,255, and
the 12-3-5-13 superfecta gave back $5,939. Following Backtalk under the wire
were Westover Wildcat (Forest Wildcat), Grand Slam Andre (Grand Slam), Overlap
(Chapel Royal), Liston (Storm Cat), One Note Samba, Flatter Than Me, Enumerate
(Proud Accolade) and Prince Rooney (Tale of the Cat). Not Macho Any More (Macho
Uno) was withdrawn after finishing second in Saturday’s Sapling S. (G3).
Dublin was a well-beaten fourth in his debut at Churchill Downs on June 11,
but finishing ahead of him that day were three next-out winners including
Backtalk, who later added the Bashford Manor S. (G3) and Sanford S. (G2). Dublin
got into the winner’s circle next time on August 1 at Saratoga, where he blitzed
his rivals by 3 1/4 lengths going six furlongs. His 3-2-0-0 mark has yielded
income of $215,415.
Bred in Kentucky by Peter Blum and Gerry Dilger, Dublin was a $525,000
Keeneland September yearling. The chestnut was produced by Classy Mirage (Storm
Bird), who scored her lone top-level victory in the 1995 Ballerina H. (G1) over
this course and distance. Classy Mirage is a half-sister to the multiple Grade
1-winning Missy’s Mirage (Stop the Music). Dublin’s siblings include the Grade
2-placed Mike’s Classic (Seeking the Gold), an unnamed yearling colt by
Vindication and a 2009 filly by Half Ours.
In addition to yielding champions on both sides of the Atlantic, this female
family has produced runners that have delighted Saratoga audiences for six
decades. Dublin’s third dam, Gray Mirage (Bold Bidder), a half-sister to Hall of
Famer and 1968 champion three-year-old filly Dark Mirage (*Persian Road II), is
the ancestress of English, French and Irish champion Indian Skimmer (Storm Bird)
as well as the Grade 1-winning Touch of the Blues (Fr) (Cadeaux Genereux).
Multiple Grade 1 winner Java Gold (Key to the Mint), the 1987 Whitney H. (G1)
and Travers S. (G1) winner, and Timely Writer (Staff Writer), who counted the
1981 Hopeful among his four Grade 1 wins, also hail from this family, as
does the Grade 1-winning Timely Assertion (Assert [Ire]) and Irish champion
Bluebird (Storm Bird). Dublin’s fifth dam, Sunday Evening (Eight Thirty),
captured the 1949 Spinaway S.