In one of the most anticipated races of the weekend, Domestic Product delivered the finest performance of his career, outfinishing Prince of Monaco and Book'em Danno to win the $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes (G1) Aug. 24 at Saratoga Race Course.
Earlier in the year, Domestic Product sprung dreams of Derby roses with a quick-finishing victory in the Tampa Bay Derby (G3). The Klaravich Stables' homebred then had a subpar performance in the Kentucky Derby (G1), checking in 13th after encountering minor traffic issues and losing a shoe. From there, trainer Chad Brown decided to take a different approach for the colt's summer campaign, and luckily for him, he already had the blueprint.
Seven years before Domestic Product, Brown conditioned another talented Klaravich colorbearer, Practical Joke , to win the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial after that one had run fifth in the Kentucky Derby. Practical Joke, now a successful fourth-crop sire at Ashford Stud in Kentucky, just happens to be the sire of Domestic Product.
"The more I saw him exiting (the Derby), I started to change my lens looking more toward the sire and what worked for him," Brown said. "I try not to complicate things. If it worked there, his color might be different, but he reminds me a lot of Practical Joke. I said I already had the blueprint to do it, I'm just going to work backward and sort of use the Dwyer to do it, and it worked."
Domestic Product cut back to a mile, scoring a sharp 7 1/2-length tally in the one-turn Dwyer Stakes (G3) July 6 at Aqueduct Racetrack. The race had him more than prepared for what loomed in the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial, a marquee annual event for sophomores around one turn. The Jerkens drew one of its deepest fields yet with grade 1 winners Book'em Danno, Prince of Monaco, Timberlake, and recent Amsterdam Stakes (G2) victor World Record among the opposition.
World Record flashed to the front and controlled the lead through early fractions of :22.04 and :44.28. Prince of Monaco, a biding fourth under John Velazquez, inhaled the front-runner at the quarter pole but soon found challengers on both sides. A rallying Book'em Danno was coming up to his inside while Flavien Prat had revved up Domestic Product from far off the pace and the pair launched their assault on the outside turning for home, battling past his rivals in deep stretch.
Prevailing by a neck under the wire, Domestic Product ($11) stopped the timer in 1:21.71 on a fast main track. Prince of Monaco, the post-time favorite, was a length better than Book'em Danno in third.
"I thought I was going to be a little closer (to the pace), to be honest," Prat said. "Then, he came on the bridle nicely. From the half-mile to the three-eighths pole, I thought I was traveling very well. After that, he was very brave to get the win. I thought it was a great, great effort."
In emulating his sire's H. Allen Jerkens victory, Domestic Product stamped himself as a grade 1 winner. Practical Joke is also the sire of this year's Test Stakes (G1) victress Ways and Means, who is also trained by Brown for Klaravich. The H. Allen Jerkens-Test combination gives the son of Into Mischief a unique sire double in Saratoga's premier sprinting events for sophomores.
Bred in Kentucky, Domestic Product is one of two winners from two foals to race produced by his dam, the Paynter mare Goods and Services. The mare's youngest foal is a 2-year-old unraced filly by Complexity named Naive Melody. She sold to trainer Wesley Ward for $220,000 at this year's Ocala Breeders' March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training.
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