SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — A colt won the Belmont for a former Phillie on Saturday.
Dornoch won the 156th Belmont Stakes, running to victory in the third and final jewel of horse racing’s Triple Crown. It was a victory for a syndicate of owners, including former Philadelphia Phillies star Jayson Werth.
The 3-year-old colt, a 17-1 longshot, charged down the stretch to pass Mindframe and win at Saratoga Race Course, circling the 1 1/4-mile track in 2 minutes, 1.64 seconds.
Sierra Leone, the runner-up at the Kentucky Derby, finished third and Honor Marie was fourth.Luis Saez won his second Belmont Stakes race, and Werth grabbed his first Triple Crown victory as a co-owner. Dornoch was trained by Danny Gargan.
“I would put this (win) right up there with anything else I’ve won,” said Werth, a 15-year MLB veteran who was part of the Philadelphia Phillies squad that won the 2008 World Series. He owns 10% of Dornoch, according to Fox News.
Dornoch, who also ran at the Kentucky Derby, broke well from the gate from the No. 6 spot and remained near the front of the pack along with Preakness Stakes winner Seize the Grey, according to CBS Sports. But while Seize the Grey faded at the top of the stretch, Dornoch continued to charge.
Mindframe also charged, but Saez was able to keep Dornoch in front to secure the victory.
“He’s one of the top 3-year-olds in the country, and we’ve always thought it,” Gargan said after the race. “We let him run his race and he won. If he gets to run, he’s always going to be tough to beat.
“When I rode this horse here in Saratoga for the first time (on July 29, 2023), I told Danny, ‘You have the (Kentucky) Derby winner,’” Saez said. “Unfortunately, the Derby’s a crazy race and we draw that No. 1 hole. Today, we have pretty good confidence that we could win this race.”