Dakota Phone, winner of the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (gr. I) at Churchill Downs, has been retired from racing and sent to Jenny Craig’s Rancho Paseana Training Center near Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. The 6-year-old gelding finished unplaced in his two starts this year and was retired with six wins and 16 placings from 35 starts and earnings of $1,282,810.
Dakota Phone was at his best last year. Trained by co-owner Jerry Hollendorfer, Dakota Phone also won the San Diego Handicap (gr. II) and placed in five graded stakes, including the Pacific Classic Stakes Presented by TVG (gr. I), the Santa Anita Handicap (gr. I), and the Goodwood Stakes (gr. I).
The Breeders’ Cup Mile was Dakota Phone’s first start outside California. Last of 12 for the first half-mile, the son of Zavata charged home to win by a head over Morning Line at 37-1 in 1:35.29 for Hollendorfer, John Carver, George Todaro, and Ted Aroney’s Halo Farms.
Dakota Phone initially raced for Aroney and Hollendorfer in partnership with Craig’s late husband, Sidney Craig. Aroney and Craig had bought Dakota Phone for $67,000 at the 2008 Barretts May sale of 2-year-olds in training from Cashmark Farms.
Bred by Cashmark and Dakota Stables, Dakota Phone was produced from the winning Spinning World mare World of Gold.