Dugout Hangs On To Capture Steel Valley Sprint

Richard Ravin, Patricia Hope LLC and Larry Rivelli’s Dugout ($21.80) scored the biggest win of his nine-race career on Monday when he caught the speedy Ohio-bred Dare Day in the stretch and held off an oncoming Manny Wah to take the $250,000 Steel Valley Sprint at Hollywood Casino at Mahoning Valley Racecourse. The six-furlong Steel Valley Sprint restricted to 3-year-olds serves as the marquee race on Mahoning Valley’s racing calendar.

Trained by Larry Rivelli, the New York-bred by Adios Charlie has been accustomed to doing his best running on the front end but was beaten to the lead by Dare Day who cut out fractions of :21.53 for the opening quarter-mile and :44.56 before being collared by Dugout and jockey Jareth Loveberry at the eighth-pole. After chasing Dare Day for five furlongs, Dugout then had to contend with the Wayne Catalano trained Manny Wah and jockey Channing Hill who made a late run to miss the top spot by a neck.

“He’s a real nice horse and we always thought he was this kind,” said Rivelli. “He can run on the lead, he can come from off the pace and is just a real nice horse. One more jump and we might have gotten beat, but the rider rode him good and we got lucky.”

Longshot Olympic Village closed to nip Dare Day for third while multiple graded stakes winner Call Paul was sent off as the odds-on favorite under jockey Irad Ortiz but faded to fifth after pressing the pace.

Out of the Lit de Justice mare Rooney Doodle, Dugout was the first horse Rivelli and Ravin have bred in New York and they also now have a full brother to the Steel Valley Sprint champion foaled earlier this year in the Empire State. The Steel Valley Sprint win capped an impressive six month run for Rooney Doodle as a broodmare as another full sibling to Dugout, Jean Elizabeth, captured the Ontario Fashion (G3) at Woodbine in October while her now five-year-old First Dude gelding, What’s Up Dude, was second in the Hanshin Cup (G3) at Arlington Park in May.

The supporting stakes on the Steel Valley Sprint card – the $75,000 Hollywood Gaming Mahoning Distaff – went to Stephen and Debbie Jackson’s Last True Love. The gray filly took the lead from longshot Select Friday at the eighth pole who battled gamely but Last True Love was able to edge away late and notch a win by 3/4’s of a length. Hidatsa Park rallied from far back to collect third but never threatened the top two. Trained by Flint Stites, Last True Love ($6.80) was ridden to victory by Gerardo Corrales and her victory in the Mahoning Distaff marked the first stakes win of her career.