Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association of New Jersey
by Bill Finley
The latter part of 2024 was not kind to New Jersey-bred star Book’ em Danno. The winner of the GI Woody Stephens S., he lost his final three races, which includes a fifth-place finish, beaten 5 ½ length in the Cigar Mile at Aqueduct. That was one of the worst races of his career.
Ninety-seven days after the Cigar he made his return in the Boston Handicap at Colonial Downs, where he looked like the old Danno. Even though the race, which was restricted to Virginia-bred or Virginia certified horses, scratched down to three horses, the two that were left as competitors to Book ‘em Danno had solid credentials. Repo Rocks is a Grade III winner who came into the race with $994,246 in earnings and Celtic Contender won a restricted stakes race at Laurel.
For the opening half-mile the race was a battle as the three were never separated by more than a lengths. Book ‘em Danno held the lead at the eighth-pole, which is where he went into high gear, winning by 2 ½ lengths under Paco Lopez. He earned a 96 Beyer figure.
“I know it scratched down to a small field but they were the three main players entered in the race,” trainer Derek Ryan said. “We got what we wanted out of it. They ran fast but good horses will do that. The other two were both stakes winners, legitimate hard knocking horses. And they were older horses, which gave them a big edge. I got more out of it than I was looking for. We got a perfect trip, a perfect everything. After his last couple of races I wanted to get a win.”
Prior to the Boston, Ryan had said he was using the race as a prep for the April 5 races in Dubai. They were considering the $2 million GII Dubai Golden Shaheen at six furlongs and the $1 million GII Godolphin Mile. But Ryan has decided that he doesn’t wanted to come back with just three weeks of rest.
“He’s up here in Ocala, rolling around in a round pen right now,” he said. “We’re not going to Dubai. It’s too close. I’d have to ship next Sunday. It’s three weeks and I don’t like to run back in three weeks. Then you miss the early summer races here. Right now, it just doesn’t fit in.”
The hope is that by skipping the races in Dubai, Book ‘em Danno will be set up for a strong 2025 U.S. campaign and, unlike last year, finish up while on the top of his game.
“Even in the Cigar Mile, we thought he didn’t run his race, but if you look at his Thoro-Graph numbers, he was running 1's in most of his races. The Cigar was probably a little slower than his other races but I think it was more a function of it being at the end of hard campaign,” co-owner Jay Briscione said. “He was also down on the rail and had traffic issues. He lost to Locked, one of the best handicap horses in the country. So maybe it was more a function of the competition than his wearing down.”
The Boston served its purpose. He got the win, he got back on track and he should be ready for tougher assignments ahead.
“I picked out the Virginia race early on because it looked like a good jumping off point,” Briscione said. “Before they put out the condition book I called and asked if they were going to write any restricted races and they said that they were. That ticked up our antenna and we decided on that race for his comeback. The race worked out for very well.”
Briscione said that Book ‘em Danno’s races this year will likely be five or six weeks apart. If they follow that schedule, the Grade I Churchill Downs Stakes on Derby Day could be where the son of Bucchero makes his next start.
“The goal is to be back at Saratoga for the True North and for the Forego,” he said. “If there’s something in between we’ll see. It just depends on his conditioning and how he comes out of his races. And then we’ll probably run in New York in the fall, maybe in the Vosburgh. Derek seems to think he wants to go longer. Whether he gets back to a mile I don’t know.”
Briscione, one of six partners who race under the name of Atlantic Six Racing LLC, said that his group has received several offers to purchase Book ‘em Danno. But they are not interested.
“You never want to get ahead of yourself in this sport,” he said. “We know we have a once-in-a-lifetime chance with this horse. We’ve turned down offers for him. We said, ‘What are we going to do, take the money and try to by another him?’ Most likely that’s not going to happen. We are enjoying this immensely. We realize we have caught lightening in a bottle.”
And all signs point to a productive 2025.
“You don’t know what he’s going to be from two to three and three to four, but the way he came around, It looks like we are in a good position,” Briscione said. “Derek has done a tremendous job with this horse. Just to be as consistent on the sheets as has, that’s been pretty incredible. If he moves forward even a little but that would put him in every race. But we don’t have to bang heads every time. There’s a lot of low hanging fruit out there. You have to weigh the risks and the rewards.”
The win was the seventh from 12 starts for Book ‘em Danno, whose career earnings stand at $1,098,125. The Boston was his sixth career stakes win. A gelding, he’s just four and has not hard a hard campaign. Could it be that we have yet to see his best?