The fields for the 14 races that comprise the Breeders’ Cup World Championships really begin to come into focus in summer and fall. This regular feature will offer a snapshot profile of one of the previous weekend’s standout stars, usually a Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” Challenge Series winner, and whether I’m buying or selling their chances to win Nov. 1-2 at Del Mar.

This week, $1,005,000 NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes winner Dornoch showed the determination he is known for in turning back Mindframe to score his second straight Grade 1 win and earn an expenses-paid berth in the $7 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Accomplishments: Dornoch showed significant potential as a 2-year-old with two wins and two seconds in four starts, including an eye-opening win over Sierra Leone in the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes in his final start of the year. He set the pace in the Remsen then was passed in the stretch by Sierra Leone – the second betting choice and runner-up in the 2024 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve – but Dornoch battled back gamely to win by a nose in an instant classic.

To kick off his 3-year-old season, Dornoch won the Grade 2 Coolmore Fountain of Youth Stakes when facing only four badly outclassed opponents but then went off form a bit when unplaced in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes.

Dornoch finished 10^th when breaking from the dreaded rail in the Kentucky Derby, running 18 lengths behind winner Mystik Dan in the first jewel of the Triple Crown, and many thought Dornoch’s status as a top 3-year-old had come and gone. But he bounced back authoritatively in the final leg of the 2024 Triple Crown when outdueling Mindframe late to win the $2 million Belmont Stakes at Saratoga by a half-length under regular rider Luis Saez.

Dornoch next erased any doubts about his place among the leaders of the 3-year-old division with another resolute win in the $1 million Haskell at Monmouth Park, in which he repelled Mindframe again and put him away convincingly for a 1 ¼-length win.

Trainer Danny Gargan did not shy from the Eclipse Award debate after the Haskell as he targets the DraftKings Travers Stakes Aug. 24 at Saratoga for Dornoch with an eye on a championship.

“If he can win the Travers, he can be the 3-year-old champion. That would mean the world to me,” Gargan said a day after the Haskell. “It would mean the world for the horse, because I believe in him that much. Luis [Saez] believes in him that much. This has been Luis’ favorite horse since the first time he rode him as a 2-year-old.”

Saez and Dornoch after the Haskell. (Joe Labozzetta/Equi-Photo)

Speed Figures: Speed figures indicate Dornoch is a racehorse improving with maturity and experience. He earned a new career-best 107 Equibase Speed Figure for his Haskell win and a career-top 103 Beyer Speed Figure. The former was a one-point jump from his Belmont Stakes triumph, while his Beyer number improved two points. A slight improvement like that offers reason for hope that Dornoch can take another step forward in the Travers on the racetrack he won the Belmont Stakes in June.

Looking Ahead: Dornoch has always had significant hype behind him as a full-brother to 2023 Kentucky Derby winner Mage, and more recently because one of his co-owners is retired Major League Baseball player and World Series champion Jayson Werth (Two Eight Racing). This Good Magic colt has, however, earned his accolades on the racetrack as he continues to improve and has shown he absolutely relishes a fight.

Dornoch very likely will vie for favoritism in the Travers Stakes Aug. 24. He could be hard to beat on a track he clearly relished in the Belmont Stakes combined with an encouraging trend of rising speed figures.

In terms of the Breeders’ Cup Classic in November, Dornoch will need to continue to get better to succeed against older males in the fall. Defeating older horses has long been a litmus test for 3-year-old racehorses, and those continuing to improve throughout the summer are typically the ones that pass the test in the fall. Dornoch looks like that type of racehorse.

While I know he’d need to continue to get faster to be a real Classic threat, I am buying Dornoch as a true contender after back-to-back wins in the Belmont and Haskell Stakes.