BOOK’EM DANNO TO PLAY LONG GAME, SKIP GODOLPHIN MILE IN DUBAI

By Mike Henry —-

PHOTO OF BOOK’EM DANNO WINNING THE 2024 PASCO STAKES COURTESY OF SV PHOTOGRAPHY)
BOOK’EM DANNO TO PLAY LONG GAME, SKIP GODOLPHIN MILE IN DUBAI

OLDSMAR, FL. – As impressive as Book’em Danno’s seasonal debut was Friday, and as eager as his connections are to prove his talent on a world stage, the $1-million Godolphin Mile on April 5 in Dubai has been ruled out for his next start, trainer Derek Ryan revealed earlier today.

“We’re staying stateside. It (the Godolphin Mile) is a little too quick, so we’ll wait a ways to see where he goes next,” said Ryan, who spent most of Sunday with Book’em Danno in Ocala as he unwinds from his convincing victory in the $150,000, 7-furlong Boston Handicap at Colonial Downs. “It’s a long summer and if we went to (Dubai) we’d probably miss a lot of other races.

“You have to do what’s right by the horse,” Ryan said of last season’s Pasco Stakes winner at Tampa Bay Downs. “There are six owners (the partners in Atlantic Six Racing) who want to enjoy him, and there are plenty of races for him – Keeneland, Churchill Downs. Maybe Monmouth Park or Saratoga.”

The 4-year-old New Jersey-bred gelding, whose final start as a 3-year-old on Dec. 7 resulted in a fifth-place finish in the Grade II Cigar Mile Handicap Presented by Twinspires.com at Aqueduct, appeared on top of his game Friday, powering home by 2 ½ lengths under jockey Paco Lopez. Repo Rocks finished second and Celtic Contender was third in a field reduced to three horses by eight scratches. Book’em Danno’s time was an “I’m back” clocking of 1:20.03.

“It was a small field, but both of those horses are stakes winners and (Repo Rocks, a multiple-Grade III winner trained by Jamie Ness) has a couple of years on (Book’em Danno). It was a good, solid effort, and (Lopez) gave him the kind of ride I’ll be looking for for a real long time,” Ryan said.

Book’em Danno, who is 7-for-12 with three seconds and career earnings of $1,098,125, followed his Pasco victory here last winter by finishing second to Forever Young by a head in the Group III Boutique Group Saudi Derby at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Japanese colt is 8-for-10 lifetime, his only defeats a pair of third-place finishes in last year’s Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve and Longines’ Breeders’ Cup Classic.

In his first race back in the United States on June 8 at Saratoga, Book’em Danno won the Grade I Woody Stephens Stakes under Irad Ortiz, Jr., defeating Prince of Monaco and Nutella Fella, among others, in 1:21.30 for 7 furlongs. The following month, he won the Jersey Shore Stakes at Monmouth under leading Tampa Bay Downs rider Samuel Marin, who had ridden him in the Pasco.

A son of multiple-Grade II winner Bucchero out of Adorabella, by Ghostzapper, Book’em Danno was bred by Gregory J. Kilka and the Bright View Farm of Christine Connelly.

Around the oval. Samy Camacho rode three winners today. He captured the first race on Miggi, a 4-year-old Florida-bred filly owned by Ralph E. Whitney and trained by Donald Hunt. Miggi was claimed from the race for $10,000 by trainer Lisa Allen for new owner Algarcon Stables.

Camacho next won the third on Miss Interpatation, a 3-year-old filly owned by Happy Tenth Stable and trained by Leslielyn Hardesty.

Camacho completed the hat trick in the fifth on the turf with Whirlwind, a 3-year-old filly owned by Ken Kachel and trained by Richard J. Hendriks.

Samuel Marin posted two victories. He won the sixth race on Can’t Jump, a 4-year-old gelding owned by Tom McCrocklin and trained by Darien Rodriguez. Marin returned to the winner’s circle after the eighth on Mo’s Vino Mesa, a 4-year-old filly owned by Happy Tenth Stable and trained by Tony Wilson.

Thoroughbred racing at Tampa Bay Downs continues Wednesday with a nine-race card beginning at 12:30 p.m. Tampa Bay Downs races Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and is open every day except April 20, Easter, for simulcast wagering, no-limits action and tournament play in The Silks Poker Room and golf fun and instruction at The Downs Golf Practice Facility.