No active trainer has had more wins in the Spinaway Stakes (G1) than Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, who has six victories in the 7-furlong race for 2-year-old fillies to be contested Saturday on closing weekend at Saratoga Race Course.
The $300,000 Spinaway – named for the juvenile filly who in 1880 beat colts in each of her seven stakes wins – is part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series “Win and You’re In” and offers the winner a fees-paid berth in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Del Mar on Oct. 31 over 1 1/16 miles.
Although nine years have passed since Pletcher’s most recent victory in the Spinaway – Sweet Loretta’s dead heat with Pretty City Dancer in 2016 – he has two promising entrants in Spendthrift Farms’ Tommy Jo (the 2-1 favorite), a 3 ¾-length maiden winner at the Spa on July 25, and Steer Clear (12-1), second to fellow Spinaway entrant Ornellia in her debut on Aug. 2, also at Saratoga.
Both will have to contend with Arindel’s Mythical (5-2), who broke her maiden by 8 ½ lengths in April at Gulfstream Park, and in two appearances at the Spa won the Tremont Stakes against the boys on June 25 and next took the Adirondack (G3) on Aug. 3 by 3 ¼-lengths.
Also expected to receive considerable support is Hat Creek Racing’s Percy’s Bar (6-1), a four-length maiden winner at Keeneland in April who returned to win Churchill Downs’ Debutante by five lengths on June 29.
Tommy Jo, a homebred daughter of Into Mischief, was awarded a earned a 93 Equibase speed figure for her debut, taking command on the far turn, opening up by five lengths and cruising home in 1:11.24 under John Velazquez.
“I thought she was impressive. She’s a nice filly who has trained very well,” Pletcher said.
Steer Clear, a daughter of Street Sense who fetched $575,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale purchase, held a brief lead in a 6-furlong maiden event on Aug. 2 at Saratoga, only to be collared in the stretch by the Chad Brown-trained Ornellia and finish 2 ¼-lengths back.
Ornellia, a $1.1 million purchase at the Fasig-Tipton Midatlantic Two-Year-Olds in Training sale in May, was off to an awkward start in her Aug. 2 debut but rallied from eighth to post a 2 1/4-length victory over returning rival Steer Clear.
Mythical, whose front-running victories have come at distances of 4 ½, 5 ½ and 6 ½ furlongs, is the lone graded stakes winner of the field of 10. Trained by Monmouth Park-based Jorge Delgado, the Florida-bred daughter of St. Patrick’s Day was 3 ½ lengths in front of fellow Spinaway entrant Meringue in the 6 ½-furlong Adirondack.
Delgado, who won last year’s Alabama Stakes (G1) with Power Squeeze, said he is delighted to have the opportunity to bring such a talented filly to Saratoga again.
“It’s special to have a horse to be good enough to go to Saratoga and compete in these kind of races. We’re just trying to embrace the moment,” Delgado said.
Delgado thinks Mythical can continue to stretch her speed.
“The way she trains and the way she gallops out in her breezes suggests she won’t have any problem for only another half-furlong,” Delgado said. “We’ve increased [distance in her races] gradually. We knew after the Tremont that this was the ultimate goal for the summer.”
Saffie Joseph, Jr., has entered a trio of maiden winners, led by Spirit Doll, a Peachtree Stable homebred daughter of Tiz the Law who scored on Aug. 7, along with Rileytole, who won at 5/2 furlongs on July 27 at Gulfstream Park, and Day to Day, a late-closing winner on the turf at Colonial Downs on July 31 under the care of Michael Trombetta, Jr.
Rounding out the field is Sina, who broke her maiden at second asking, scoring by five lengths on Aug. 8 at Delaware Park.
For those who bet horse racing ...
1 Ornellaia (Dylan Davis, Chad Brown), 9-2
2 Meringue (Luis Rivera, Jr., Rodolphe Brisset), 10-1
3 Rileytole (Reylu Gutierrez, Saffie Joseph, Jr.), 30-1
4 Mythical (Emaisel Jaramillo, Jorge Delgado), 5-2
5 Percy's Bar (Luan Machado, Ben Colebrook), 6-1
6 Sina (Jaime Rodriguez, Brett Brinkman), 15-1
7 Steer Clear (Jose Lezcano, Todd Pletcher), 12-1
8 Tommy Jo (Kendrick Carmouche, Todd Pletcher), 2-1
9 Spirit Doll (Edgard Zayas, Saffie Joseph, Jr.), 15-1
10 Day to Day (Ricardo Santana, Jr., Saffie Joseph, Jr.), 30-1
