Mo Donegal wins at Belmont
Albany residents Brenda and Glenn Picquet experienced a thrill of a lifetime this past weekend, as their horse, Mo Donegal, captured first place in the 154th running of the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, June 11.
The Belmont is an American Grade 1 stakes race for 3-year-old thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., located on Long Island. The race, nicknamed The Test of Champions and The Run for the Carnations, is the traditional third and final leg of the Triple Crown. It is usually held on the first or second Saturday in June, five weeks after the Kentucky Derby and three weeks after the Preakness Stakes.
Mo Donegal, a bay colt, was bred in Kentucky at Ashview Farm & Colts Neck Stable and purchased at the Keeneland, Kentucky, September 2020 yearling sale by the Donegal Racing group. The group is headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, and led by attorney Jerry Crawford.
Out of the Pulpit mare Callingmissbrown, “MO” is a son of champion juvenile and leading sire Uncle Mo (by Indian Charlie). The colt is trained by Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, a Texas native now based in New York, and ridden by three-time Eclipse Jockey of the Year award winner Irad Ortiz Jr.
Mo Donegal, the betting favorite at race time, covered the 1½-mile oval in 2:28.28, taking the lead at the top of the stretch and winning by three lengths over his stablemate, Nest, the only filly in the field of eight thoroughbreds. Skippylongstocking was a surprising third. Rich Strike, the 80-1 upset winner of the Kentucky Derby was sixth, 13 lengths back of Mo Donegal.
With a total purse of $1.5 million, the winner’s share from the race was $800,000.
The Belmont Stakes is traditionally called “The Test of the Champion” because it is by far the longest of the Triple Crown races (1½ miles – a full lap around the enormous Belmont main track). It is also one of the longest first-class races on dirt in the United States. Most 3-year-olds are unaccustomed to the distance, and lack the experience, if not the stamina, to maintain a winning speed for so long. In a long race such as the Belmont, positioning of the horse and the timing of the move to chase for the lead can be critical.
“We have known since early December, when he won the Grade 2 Remsen, that MO had a chance to compete favorably in the Triple Crown races,” Glenn Picquet said. “That win put him on the Derby trail.”
Mo Donegal followed that win with a disappointing third-place finish in the Grade 3 Holy Bull at Gulfstream Park, but he came back to win the prestigious Grade 2 Wood Memorial in New York on April 9 to officially qualify for the Kentucky Derby.
In the opening leg of the Triple Crown in early May, Mo Donegal placed fifth of 20 horses despite a poor start and a wide trip.
“We then skipped the Preakness, concentrating on what we believed to be a good chance to win the Belmont,” Glenn Picquet said. “The plan turned out to be a good one, as MO did exactly that Saturday in New York.”
Brenda Picquet said owning the winner of a Triple Crown race is still hard to believe.
“It was a magical day, and the whole thing still seems surreal,” she said. “We just got home, and it hasn’t really sunk in yet – still can’t convince ourselves it really happened ...until we look at these photos.”
A friend from Boston introduced the Picquets to the excitement of thoroughbred racing in early 2017 when they attended the Pegasus World Championships together at Gulfstream Park in Hallendale Beach, Florida. They signed on board that day as partners with Donegal Derby Dreams IX and have participated in the purchase of a new set of thoroughbred yearlings annually since then. Mo Donegal was purchased in their fifth year of participation.
“There is a lot of science used in the selection of our yearlings,” Glenn Picquet said. “Early each fall, Donegal tries to buy between eight and 12 of them, and they are sent immediately to a farm in South Carolina, a sort of thoroughbred kindergarten.”
The following spring as 2-year-olds, the youngsters are assigned to various trainers to prepare for actual racing. That summer and fall, hopefully they are entering races that could lead them to the Derby the next spring.
“The main goal of the Donegal Derby Dreams partnerships is to put a horse in the Kentucky Derby, but of course the ultimate goal is to win it,” Glenn Picquet said. “To date, Donegal Racing has had four Derby runners in 13 years, including two third place finishes, a seventh, and this year’s fifth place. MO gave our family our first legitimate shot at that in May, and he came up a little bit short. But with his success in the Belmont, we are over that now.”
Brenda Picquet said the impetus to get involved in racing was to learn more about thoroughbreds and to get to see some of the beautiful tracks across America.
“We have accomplished that,” she said. “But it’s hard to describe the thrill and excitement when you see your horse pulling away down the stretch for the win in any race, much less the Belmont! This win just adds a little more excitement, and helps cover the cost of doing this a little longer. Each year, some new partners come in, and we now have partners from all across the country, and have made some good friends, too.”
The Belmont Stakes is the oldest of the Triple Crown races and is rich in tradition. The official song is Frank Sinatra’s “Theme from New York,” while the official drink is the “Belmont Jewel.”
The Belmont is also known as “The Run for the Carnations” because the winning horse is draped with a blanket of white carnations after the race, in similar fashion to the blanket of roses and black-eyed Susans for the Derby and Preakness, respectively. Traditionally, pure white carnations stand for love and luck. It takes approximately 700 “select” carnations imported from Colombia to create the 40-pound blanket draped over the winner of the Belmont Stakes.
The winning owner is ceremonially presented with the silver winner’s trophy, designed by Paulding Farnham for Tiffany and Co. It was first presented to August Belmont Jr. in 1896 and donated by the Belmont family for annual presentation in 1926.
