10 Pedigree fun facts: Dornoch

Jan 22, 2024 Kellie Reilly/Brisnet.com

As a full brother to 2023 Kentucky Derby (G1) hero Mage, Dornoch has proven pedigree power. But that’s not necessarily a benefit in this case, since no mare has ever produced two Derby winners.

If Dornoch can emulate Mage by wearing the roses, it would be an unprecedented achievement for their mother, Puca. Their sire, Good Magic, would himself make history if he can sire Derby winners in his first two crops.

Dornoch is ahead of Mage on the developmental curve at this stage. Mage didn’t race until he turned three. In contrast, Dornoch gained experience in a four-start juvenile campaign capped by a gutsy win in the Remsen (G2).

Mage was treated to an in-depth fun facts installment here last year, so we’ll have some redundancy while finding a couple of fresh angles for Dornoch.

1. Good Magic was runner-up to Justify in the 2018 Kentucky Derby.

The champion two-year-old of 2017 after a historic maiden-breaking victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1), Good Magic was the best of his generation until a whippersnapper named Justify came along in the spring of 2018. They clashed in the first two jewels of the Triple Crown, where Good Magic put up a valiant fight.

Runner-up to Justify in the Kentucky Derby, Good Magic decided to duel with him early in the Preakness (G1) and wound up fourth. When Justify retired in the wake of his Triple Crown sweep in the Belmont (G1), a freshened Good Magic reasserted himself with a dominant Haskell (G1) victory. He was well below his best in the Travers (G1), though, and retired to stud.

2. Good Magic came close to siring two classic winners in his initial crop.

Off to a fantastic start at stud, Good Magic received some vicarious Derby glory thanks to his son Mage’s 15-1 upset at Churchill Downs. The hot young sire nearly made it a classic double in the Preakness, with another son, Blazing Sevens, missing by a head in the middle jewel at Pimlico. Mage finished a game third as well, giving Good Magic both of the Preakness placings.

In addition to his classic performers, Good Magic was represented by Curly Jack, Dubyuhnell, and Reincarnate, all winners of scoring races on the 2023 Road to the Derby.

3. Good Magic could become the first stallion to sire Derby winners in his first two crops.

After making such a splash on last year’s Triple Crown trail, Good Magic will try to keep his momentum going with his second crop of three-year-olds. Aside from Dornoch, his 2024 prospects include Grade 1 victor Muth, Ari’s Magic, and Stolen Magic.

Good Magic would stand alone in the record book if he follows up with another Derby winner in his second crop. Indeed, no stallion in Derby history had sired back-to-back winners until Into Mischief, and he was already an established sire by the time Authentic (2020) and Mandaloun (2021) came along.

4. Good Magic’s sire Curlin and damsire Hard Spun were 2007 Triple Crown rivals.

It’s no surprise that Good Magic has emerged as a classic sire, since his own immediate pedigree features major players from the 2007 Triple Crown. Good Magic is by Curlin, the third-placer in the Derby who improved to win the Preakness and came up just shy of the filly Rags to Riches in the Belmont.

Good Magic’s dam (mother), multiple stakes winner Glinda the Good, is herself a daughter of Curlin’s old rival Hard Spun. A brilliant pace-setting second in the 2007 Derby, Hard Spun was third in the Preakness and fourth in the 1 1/2-mile Belmont that stretched his stamina.

5. Hall of Famer Curlin has excelled himself as a sire.

Curlin, who was just getting warmed up through the Triple Crown, excelled over time and ultimately compiled a Hall of Fame resume. The $10.5 million earner ranked as North America’s richest Thoroughbred upon his retirement, and his seven top-level victories include the 2007 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), 2008 Dubai World Cup (G1), and back-to-back runnings of the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1).

Yet Curlin has achieved the distinction of becoming an even more important sire. Himself responsible for 2013 Belmont star Palace Malice and 2016 Preakness scorer Exaggerator, Curlin is also the paternal grandsire of two straight Derby winners. Before Mage, it was the 80-1 Rich Strike, by Curlin’s son Keen Ice, whose name is now synonymous with surprises. Keen Ice’s prior claim to fame was stunning Triple Crown champion American Pharoah in the 2015 Travers.

At this time last year, Curlin made Eclipse Awards history by siring three individual champions. He’s now assured of getting at least two champions for 2023, and possibly even a successor to his Horse of the Year crown: Elite Power is a lock to repeat as champion sprinter, Idiomatic is a moral certainty to take the older dirt female title, and Cody’s Wish, the heartwarming story of the past two seasons, holds claims for older dirt male.

Curlin’s influence on the 2024 Derby picture transcends Good Magic. Another champion son, Vino Rosso, has The Wine Steward in the mix from his first crop, and Curlin has Mucho Macho Man S. winner Otello.

6. Hard Spun’s son Two Phil’s emulated his effort in the Derby.

Hard Spun might remain in Curlin’s shadow, but he too has compiled a fine record at stud. Last year’s Derby underscored the point, since Hard Spun factored in the pedigree of the top two finishers. Aside from his spot in the ancestry of Mage via Good Magic, Hard Spun sired the valiant runner-up, Two Phil’s. If not for injury that ended his career prematurely after romping in the Ohio Derby (G3), Two Phil’s was eligible to compete for the champion three-year-old male title.

Hard Spun’s current sophomores include Drum Roll Please, third to Dornoch in the Remsen and subsequently the Jerome S. winner, and Informed Patriot, third in the Street Sense (G3) and Smarty Jones S. Moreover, Hard Spun’s daughters continue to produce runners; recent Busanda S. scorer Gin Gin is out of a Hard Spun mare.

7. Puca, by Derby champ Big Brown, also descends from Summer Squall.

Dornoch’s classic profile is reinforced by Puca. Her sire, Big Brown, conquered the 2008 Derby and Preakness as by far the best three-year-old of his year. The Belmont was widely forecast to be a coronation for the 3-10 favorite, but he was pulled up in the only loss of his career. A healthy Big Brown bounced back in the Haskell and beat older horses, on turf, in the Monmouth S.

Puca also boasts a classic winner on her dam’s side, since her granddam is by 1990 Preakness hero Summer Squall, who was runner-up in the Derby. Summer Squall brings in a further influence as a half-brother to Hall of Famer A.P. Indy; both are sons of Broodmare of the Year Weekend Surprise, a daughter of Secretariat.

Although not a breed-shaper like half-brother A.P. Indy, Summer Squall has made his own mark on the Triple Crown as the sire of 1999 Derby and Preakness champion Charismatic, and he sired the dam of 2009 Belmont and Travers champion Summer Bird. Summer Squall’s 2005 Kentucky Oaks (G1)-winning daughter, Summerly, has a grandson on the 2024 trail in Legalize.

8. Puca ran in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and Kentucky Oaks.

Puca showed talent in her 16-length maiden romp, earning a shot in the 2014 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) where she finished a troubled sixth. Similarly, her runner-up effort in the 2015 Gazelle (G2) warranted a chance in the Kentucky Oaks, but she never factored in 12th.

While Puca’s best dirt results came on “off” tracks with residual moisture, her true home was on turf. That was logical on pedigree, considering her half-brother is Grade 1-winning millionaire Finnegans Wake. In her lone turf opportunity as a juvenile, Puca was third to future champion Lady Eli in a Saratoga maiden. As a four-year-old, Puca scored in a restricted stakes at Suffolk Downs, beating Queen Caroline, who’s now famous as the dam of champion (and sometime Mage rival) Forte.

9. Puca recently sold for $2.9 million.

Mage’s Derby success made Puca a hot commodity as a young broodmare. Offered at Keeneland’s November Breeding Stock Sale, carrying a full sibling to Mage, she was sold for a sales-topping $2.9 million to John Stewart.

Dornoch is enhancing her perfect produce record. All three of her foals have won, and garnered “black-type” with their stakes performances. Puca’s first foal, the filly Gunning (by Gun Runner), placed in a pair of stakes at Ellis Park and Oaklawn Park while bankrolling $278,835.

10. Afleet Alex and Twenty Grand belong to the same family.

Mage became the fourth Derby winner belonging to the family labeled 5-g. His maternal relationship is nearer to 1931 Derby celebrity Twenty Grand, who also won the Belmont and Travers in his Hall of Fame career, than to early 20th-century scorers Elwood (1904) and Sir Huon (1906).

A more recent standard-bearer for the family, champion Afleet Alex, was third in the 2005 Derby but much the best in the Preakness and Belmont. The ancestress that Afleet Alex, Mage, and Dornoch have in common is Quick Touch, a daughter of 1943 Triple Crown legend Count Fleet.