Denton Hall News
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- 02-Apr-2024: Close Connection loses his maiden tag in the mud at Pontefract
- 25-Mar-2024: William Pyle gets Stallone up on the line for second Newcastle win of 2024
- 09-Mar-2024: Members of Denton Hall Racing and Dods Racing Club enjoy stable visit
- 01-Mar-2024: Abruzzo Mia and Sean Kirrane get March off to a flyer at Newcastle
- 25-Jan-2024: Marcello Si wins for the second time this year at Newcastle under Clifford Lee
- 17-Jan-2024: Stallone goes in at Newcastle under William Pyle for our third win of 2024
- 04-Jan-2024: 2024 gets off to cracking start as Marcello Si and Hale End land Newcastle double under Clifford Lee
Dakota Gold relishes conditions at York to land his first group race in style
DAKOTA Gold relished his “perfect conditions” to win his first Group race at York today.
The Michael Dods-trained six-year-old gelding never looked like being beaten as he spreadeagled a quality field to win the Group 3 Coral Bengough Stakes over six furlongs.
James Fanshaw’s veteran sprinter The Tin Man tried hard to get on terms but Dakota Gold – a progressive five-time winner last season – won unchallenged by just under two lengths. Another veteran, Kevin Ryan’s Brando, was third.
Michael said: “The key was that he loves soft ground, and he loves York, so he had his perfect conditions today.
“York is a front-runners’ track and it really suits him. It was a small field but you can’t knock the quality of the likes of The Tin Man. Dakota Gold did it well and deserved to win a Group race after his wins in listed company.
“It was always going to be difficult this season after what he achieved last year. We had the delay to the start of the season, and the hot spell early on, but he’s done us proud again.
“He’s held his own against the country’s top sprinters, and when he’s had his conditions, he’s won.”
Dakota Gold, owned by Doug Graham, Ian Davison and Alan Drysdale, got off the mark for 2020 by winning the Listed Beverley Bullet when it was soft on the East Yorkshire track at the end of August.
The Equiano gelding may now attempt to emulate last season’s victory in The Rous Stakes, which is a Listed race over five furlongs. Like The Bengough Stakes, The Rous Stakes was re-routed following the abandonment of last Saturday’s Ascot meeting and will instead be run at Nottingham on Wednesday.
Michael said: “We don’t need to make a decision now – we’ll see how he is after the York race.”
While the testing conditions suited Dakota Gold, they weren’t to the liking of Denton Hall’s promising two-year-olds, Northern Express and Blackrod, who were also in action at York.
“They just got bogged down but they’re nice horses to look forward to on better ground next year,” said Michael.