14, but Dini had already shipped Bramble Blaze back to Monmouth Park. Dini said he was heading to the paddock with the colt when the rain hit. But he still found a way to win.”ĭini has enlisted Jairo Rendon to ride the Kentucky-bred son of Summer Front-Regal Rose by Empire Maker.īramble Braze was originally set to follow up his Maiden Special Weight score in the $500,000 Juvenile Mile Stakes at Kentucky Downs on Sept. He was fractious, bounced off the gate and broke slowly. He did everything wrong before that and still won. “He probably raced better than I thought with the way he made such a big move in the stretch. He’s not a very big horse but he does everything pretty professionally. “We only trained him on the dirt so you had to hope his breeding took over in his first start. “He’s out of a family of all turf horses,” said Dini. It opened the way for Dini to chase his biggest purse since Dynatail ran in the $1 million, Grade 1 Belmont Oaks in 2017. But none was as significant as Bramble Blaze, a Ballybrit Stable homebred, winning his debut the way he did. “Sometimes it’s how you finish, not how you start.”ĭini has since recovered from that rough beginning with eight wins from his last 60 starters. “I always tell everyone it’s a year sport,” said Dini. The one-mile grass feature for 2-year-olds has attracted a field of 10.

14, gives Dini a shot at a big payday in Saturday’s $500,000 Nownownow Stakes. After scuffling at the start of the Monmouth Park meet, failing to get his first win until his 37 th starter, trainer Mike Dini has a chance to make up for all of those early struggles in a little more than 90 seconds on Saturday.īramble Blaze, who won his debut impressively in an off-the-pace performance at a mile on the Monmouth Park grass course on Aug.

Payday trainer