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Landing on Dust Hits it Home in the Steward's Cup Marathon

Original article written by Marzy Dotes posted 13 years 4 weeks ago

Landing on Dust swept from the back of the pack in the final yards to win the grueling Steward’s Cup Marathon by one length over Liveinthemoment. The dark bay horse galloped the two miles over the New Orleans Park dirt course in 3:25.09.

Owned by John Slotman, the six year old was purchased at a yearling auction for $1.5 million and is by former North American Champion Older Male Savvy and out of the unraced mare, Landing on Stars. After the Steward’s Cup Marathon, Landing on Dust had earned over $2.2 million in purses and had become the highest earning runner sired by Savvy.

But before that day came, he had compiled an impressive record of 11 wins in 20 starts beginning when he broke his maiden as a juvenile at a mere mile at Mustang Park. He finished his first season having won two of three starts including an impressive victory in the Still Tired Stakes.

As a sophomore, he began preparing for a run at the Louisville, finishing third to future Steward’s Cup Marathon winner, The Odyssey’s End in the Pacific Coast Highway Stakes. Although he won the New Orleans Derby, he faltered in the Louisville Derby finishing eighth behind Buckingham, Fable and a host of others. He turned the tables on Buckingham beating him and Caldron by a ½ length in the contentious Midsummer Classic., before finishing fifth in the Steward’s Cup Classic.

It would soon become clearer that Landing on Dust preferred the longer distances as when he began running races of a 1 ½ miles or longer, he became a different horse. He defeated Crime Fighter in the Gallant Socks Handicap at four and romped in the Priceless Forever Stakes, while generating close second place finishes in shorter races like the Inglewood Gold Cup and the Long Island Gold Cup. He finished off his campaign by an uninspiring eighth place finish in the Steward’s Cup Classic.

He had his best season at five, repeating in the Gallant Socks Company and then reeling off a series of impressive wins, coming into the Marathon without a single loss that year. Not surprising given that it took a little bit of time for his sire to blossom during his own racing career. He went into his final race as an impressive contender, ready to tackle the formidable two mile distance for the first time in his career. The same race where Savvy had nosed out Tremendous Machine for the win to complete his own career five years earlier.

Under Marissa Coooper, Landing on Dust broke patiently in seventh place, settling in for the long trek over the course while Liveinthemoment and Clever and Cunning battled it out for the early lead. Liveinthemoment who had two comfortable wins under his belt at the race distance took over the lead in the backstretch and by the far turn, enjoyed a two length advantage over Clever and Cunning. That didn’t rattle Landing on Dust who began to kick it into gear in the lane like a dervish, having waited patiently much of the race before making his decisive move. He ran down the pace setter for the win while Liveinthemoment finished second a length ahead of Earn the Roses who finished to grab the third spot ahead of Heart of Battle.

After the race and the awards ceremony, Landing on Dust headed off to Journey’s End Farm to begin his stud career and attracted a lot of attention from broodmares who began flocking there being a handsome dude.


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