With darkness descending and the finish line lit by artificial light, Haynesfield held off the relentless charge of Ruffino by a desperate three-quarters of a length Saturday to win the 34th running of the $250,000 Empire Classic at Belmont Park.

The dramatic victory gave Belmont’s leading jockey, Ramon Dominguez, a sweep of the final four stakes races on the New York Showcase Day card. He won the Sleepy Hollow aboard Fenway Faithful, the Iroquois on Rightly So, the Hudson on Driven by Success and finished off his own personal Pick 4 (worth $1,461 to his faithful backers) with Haynesfield.

“It doesn’t get any better,” Dominguez said after the Classic. “I’m very excited, very excited. It’s special, especially being my first year riding year-round here. It’s a very special day here in New York and to be able to win four races is a great feeling, really.”

Owned by Turtle Bird Stable, Haynesfield ran the 1 1/8-mile Classic in 1:50.76 on a track labeled sloppy. As the $4.50-to-1 second choice of the crowd of 4,180, he paid $11 for a $2 win ticket. Undocumented, a 31-1 shot, rallied from 10th to place third while favored Future Prospect faded to 10th.

For Haynesfield, the victory was a dramatic return to form. The 3-year-old was on the Triple Crown trail this past winter after three straight stakes wins at Aqueduct. An eighth-place finish in the Grade 3 Gotham in March, however, led trainer Steve Asmussen to shut down the chestnut son of Speightstown for seven months.

Haynesfield returned to the races October 2 at Belmont with a second-place finish in the Sir Keys Stakes at 6½ furlongs. The connections then cross-nominated the colt to the six-furlong Hudson and the Classic, ultimately choosing the longer, richer race.

“That’s a pretty big step up off 6½ [furlongs],” said Toby Sheets, Asmussen’s New York assistant trainer. “Nice animal. He’s been in great shape and has always done better going longer. He’s never won at a mile and an eighth, so it was a concern, but he’s done better longer.”

When the gate opened for the Classic, Haynesfield rushed to the front, where he dueled with Love Abroad through a torrid half-mile in 45.96 seconds.

“I was concerned because he’s a big horse who has a very high cruising speed,” Dominguez said. “So it’s really hard to tell how fast you’re going when you’re on his back.”

On the turn, Love Abroad had had enough, and Haynesfield opened up on the field. Ruffino, ridden by John Velazquez for trainer H. James Bond, had been racing up close on the outside, and he launched his charge on the turn. In the stretch, he continued grinding and closing the gap on the leader to the wire.

“If they all had his heart, this would be an easy game,” Bond said. “What a good horse. Johnny rode him fabulously. He just ran out of ground.”

Dr. D.F.C. finished fourth followed by Naughty New Yorker, Slevin, the filly Weathered, Platinum Couple, Typhoon Tycoon, Future Prospect and Love Abroad, who was eased.

Haynesfield has now won five of eight lifetime starts. The $150,000 first prize for taking the Classic increased his lifetime earnings to $354,381.

HUDSON RECAP

By Jenny Kellner

Repole Stable’s Driven by Success returned to state-bred company and found the winner’s circle for the first time in more than eight months in the $125,000 Hudson, leading every step to take the six-furlong race in 1:10.51.

The 4-year-old gelded son of Precise End, who held his own against some of the nation’s top sprinters through the spring and summer, broke sharply and zipped through fractions of 22.10 and 45.52 before drawing clear in the stretch to win by three lengths over Legal Consent. Citifest was third.

“I was very happy with how sharp he broke coming out of the gate,” said Dominguez. “Around the turn, he gave me a good run. He was much more comfortable on the lead today than some of the other times I’ve ridden him, and I think that made a big difference.”

The victory, the first for Driven by Success since he won an optional claimer at Aqueduct on February 7, ran his record for 2009 to 2-1-3 from eight starts, including a trio of third-place finishes in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap, the Grade 1 Carter Handicap, and the Grade 3 Tom Fool. In his most recent start, he was eighth behind Pyro in the Grade 1 Forego on September 5 at Saratoga.

“We knew after the Forego we weren’t going to run until this race,” said winning trainer Bruce Levine. “The only thing that would beat him was the slop.”

Driven by Success returned $3.70 for a $2 win bet as the 4-5 favorite, and earned $75,000 to boost his bankroll to $318,669.

IROQUOIS PRESENTED BY JOHN DEERE RECAP

By Ashley Herriman

In only her second start following a six month layoff, Zayat Stables’ Rightly So led the field from gate to wire in the 31st running of the $125,000 Iroquois Stakes presented by John Deere.

Taking advantage of the Anthony Dutrow-trained filly’s speed leaving the gate, Dominguez sent her right to the lead, where she remained to hold off the late charge of runner-up My Dinah.

Her final time for the seven furlongs over a sloppy, sealed track was 1:24.64.

“The second quarter, she was still pretty keen,” Dominguez said. “I was hoping she would come back to me, but that wasn’t the case. She kept picking it up. Turning for home, she kept on fighting. The last sixteenth, I hit her one time, but she isn’t too fond of the whip, so I went to open the reins and she gave me another gear. She never stopped running.”

The Iroquois presented by John Deere was 3-year-old Rightly So’s first start in stakes company and she earned $75,000 for the victory, nearly doubling her bankroll to $160,600. Sent off as the 5-1 second choice in the field of 11 fillies and mares, she returned $12.20 for a $2 win bet.

Favored Sapphire Sky was third and Sweet Lorena was fourth.

SLEEPY HOLLOW RECAP

By Brian Skirka

In the $100,000 Sleepy Hollow for 2-year-old colts at a mile, Fenway Faithful and Dominguez rode the rail down the backside, opened up two lengths on the far turn, and held on for a one-length victory over City Trooper and Make Note despite drifting out in the stretch. Previously undefeated Ibboyee, the 7-5 favorite, finished fourth.

Trained by Rick Violette for Klaravich Stables and William H. Lawrence, Fenway Faithful broke in mid-pack, but was soon close up in third behind longshot Magic Tiger through an opening quarter mile in 22.66.

As the field progressed down the backstretch, Dominguez sent Fenway Faithful inside of Magic Tiger, and the pair raced as a duo until Fenway Faithful opened up around the far turn.

Despite getting a bit leg-weary late, Fenway Faithful held off all challenges and paid $21.40 to win for a $2 wager. The son of Grand Slam ran a mile in the slop in 1:38.94.

“He handled the mud very well,” Dominguez said. “I had a lot of horse the whole race. It was his first time going the distance [one mile], and he handled everything very well.”

Added Violette: “He ran in the mud the first start of his life [in Saratoga], and he handled it that day. We don’t train a lot in the mud in the mornings, so that was valuable experience and he was very game. He was a little bit…not rank, but he certainly dragged Ramon into a spot where he attacked pretty early, and he was just game enough to hang on.”

MAID OF THE MIST RECAP

By Jenny Kellner

Chester and Mary Broman’s favored Mineralogist took her second straight stakes victory when she rallied from last to win the 16th running of the $100,000 Maid of the Mist, the first of the five New York-bred stakes on the day’s card.

Ridden by Hall of Famer Kent Desormeaux, the daughter of Mineshaft was pinched back at the start and trailed the field of eight 2-year-old fillies through early fractions of 22.63 and 46.20. On the turn, she launched a big move and took command in the stretch, opening up by 2½ lengths and then holding off the late flurry from Embrace Change to win by three-quarters of a length.

Her time for the mile was 1:40.04 over a sloppy track.

“When I squeezed her on the turn for home, she just took off,” said Desormeaux. “She’s an amazing filly.”

In adding the Maid of the Mist to her victory in the Joseph A. Gimma on September 27, Mineralogist extended her record to 3-1-0 from five starts and returned $3.20 for a $2 win bet as the 3-5 favorite.

“She gutted it out at the end,” said winning trainer John Kimmel. “It would be my plan to have this as her final race of the year; she’s had enough racing, and we’ll give her a chance for next year.”