Kentucky Derby pedigree profile: Dornoch
Dornoch winning the Remsen (G2) at Aqueduct (Photo by Coglianese Photos/Susie Raisher)
December 4th, 2023
It’s safe to say that Dornoch has the pedigree of a Kentucky Derby (G1) winner. Because he literally has the pedigree of a Kentucky Derby winner.
On April 18, 2020, a chestnut colt by Good Magic out of Puca was born. Later named Mage, he would go on to win the 2023 Kentucky Derby in an upset.
On April 22, 2021, a bay colt by Good Magic out of Puca was born. Mage’s younger brother was given the name Dornoch, and after posting determined victories in the Remsen (G2) and Fountain of Youth (G2) on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, Dornoch has a chance to emulate his sibling with a win on the first Saturday in May.
WHAT A FINISH! 🤩
— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) December 2, 2023
#3 Dornoch fights back on the inside to grab 10 #KentuckyDerby points in the G2 Remsen S. at Aqueduct! 🌹
The FULL brother to Mage is trained by @garganracing and ridden by @luissaezpty.
🎥 #TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/ScGP08aqCr
It’s easy to understand why Mage and Dornoch are shining where the Kentucky Derby is concerned. Good Magic, the champion two-year-old male of 2017 after winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1), placed second behind Triple Crown winner Justify in the 2018 Kentucky Derby. And Good Magic is a son of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin, third in the 2007 Kentucky Derby and also the sire of 2016 Kentucky Derby runner-up Exaggerator and the grandsire of 2022 Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike.
But wait, there’s more. Puca competed in the 2015 Kentucky Oaks (G1) and is a daughter of Big Brown, the champion three-year-old male of 2008 after winning the Kentucky Derby, Preakness (G1), Haskell (G1), and Florida Derby (G1). At stud, Big Brown is best known as the sire of Dortmund, third in the 2015 Kentucky Derby and winner of the Santa Anita Derby (G1) and Los Alamitos Futurity (G1).
If you’ve lost count of the number of times we’ve mentioned “Kentucky Derby” while recounting the exploits of Dornoch’s closest relatives, so have we. Before Mage won the 2023 Kentucky Derby, we noted how his “sire, grandsire, and dam sire all started in the Run for the Roses, giving Mage the pedigree to factor on the first Saturday in May.”
Not only did Mage factor, he took home the roses. No mare has ever foaled multiple Kentucky Derby winners, but we know with certainty that the Good Magic/Puca cross can produce a Derby winner, and that bodes well for Dornoch’s chances in the 2024 Run for the Roses.
