The Spinster (Grade 1) (BC)- $600.000 Purse
KEE- For Fillies and Mares Three Years Old and Upward
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
October 6, 2024

The big weekend of action at KEE will not end on Saturday, as Sunday will also feature a big “win and you’re in” race for the BC. That will be the Grade 1 Spinster, a $600.000 race, that will send its winner to the BC Distaff. The Spinster first appeared on the schedule in 2005, and the purse level has largely remained constant, being at $500.000 most years until 2022, when the additional $100.000 was added. You can’t talk about the Spinster without mentioning Halfbaked, the incredible mare who won the race three years in a row between 2006 and 2008. We have not had a repeat winner since then, and that will remain true for at least one more year. However, Smokey Stover is looking to equal what Halfbaked did, and win the race three years in a row, and it would also be four out of five. Last year, he did it with Jinxed Artist, a still active mare who won the Grade 3 ONT Matron Stakes three weeks ago. He’ll have one of the twelve entries this year. Let’s meet that field now:

1- Ignore Tucker (Fractious, ridden by F Prat)- This Fox Ruler filly is currently on a great run of form, winning the Grade 2 Santa Margarita at SA and then the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis Handicap at CD a month later. Next up for her would be a trip to SAR for the Personal Ensign, where she made a late bid to extend her winning streak but settled for second behind Starting Over. Unless Fractious decides to do something differently in this race, we can expect that she’ll be near the back again early on, to do her best running late.

2- Wrong Farm (Winning Link Stables, ridden by T Gaffalione)- It’s been over a year now since Wrong Farm won a race, as she has only managed one victory in her twelve starts. After a great two-year-old season, she has been quiet this year and had a pretty rough spring. Recently, she has broken out of that slump, and was third in her last start, which was the Alabama at SAR. She was beaten by four lengths there, but it is something that she can build on here.

3- Wavy Girl (Saratoga Stud, ridden by P Lopez)- Sixteen years ago, Saratoga Stud led the previously mentioned Halfbaked to what was her third straight Spinster win. It’s been a while, but the trainer would love to get another Spinster trophy. For that to happen, Wavy Girl will need to be a lot better than she was in her last race, when she was soundly defeated in the Personal Ensign. The good news is that it is very possible that race is a throw out, because she had back-to-back graded wins right before that, and overall she has won eight of seventeen. If she wants to redeem herself for the Personal Ensign, it will come against those she saw previously.

4- Alice Springs (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by R M Hernandez)- Wavy Girl may have done poorly in the Personal Ensign, but she did beat one of her rivals that day. The one she beat: Alice Springs. Since winning the Ruffian Handicap in May, this filly has been mediocre at best, but there is room for optimism here as well. After all, this is her first race with TwinTowersRacing, as the trainer recently picked her up in the auction for $132.000. After a few weeks to get acclimated, and making bute a distant memory, maybe we’ll see that Ruffian Handicap version of her.

5- Untidy (Mb Stables, ridden by M Franco)- In her last race, Untidy returned to the grass after several races on the dirt, to run in the Grade 2 Flower Bowl. That ended up going off with just four runners, and Untidy was third. Last year, she had run in the BC Fillies and Mares Turf, so that move made sense. However, Untidy has also been very good on the dirt as well and won the Grade 1 La Troienne at CD this spring. That’s a win that should get her into the BC Distaff, but she’ll look to clinch that here.

6- Divine Moonlight (Smokey Stover, ridden by D E Centeno)- It was just two weeks ago that Divine Moonlight won the Grade 1 Cotillion, and she doesn’t really have much to prove here. The thing is, even though that probably should be a “win and you’re in” race, it’s not, and Divine Moonlight is only 18th on the leaderboard for the BC Distaff right now. So, Smokey’s hand to run her here may have been forced by that, but the filly will give the trainer a great chance to continue his recent dominance of the Spinster. As long as she’s okay with the short layoff, which I believe she will be, she should run well.

7- Starting Over (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by J R Velazquez)- Just like she had done in 2023, Starting Over picked up a big win in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign at SAR. After that, she would run in the Spinster, looking to redeem herself from finishing 12th in this race in 2022. She was better, placing fourth. Now, it is her third appearance in the Spinster, and the trainer has to be excited with her chances this time. She has won her last two races that have been on the dirt, as she also took the Grade 1 Phipps in June. This track hasn’t been kind to her, historically, and may owe her one.

8- Thanks Mucho (Mo Mentum Farm, ridden by T Conner)- Last month at CD, Thanks Mucho made her graded debut in the Locust Grove and ran an unusual race for her. In her prior four starts, she was out on the lead early, but in the Locust Grove, she was at the back and five lengths out. Made up ground to be fourth, but it will be interesting to see how she starts this race. It wasn’t unprecedented for her to be at the back early, though. Regardless, she’s never been tested like this before.

9- Childe Girl (Nakamura Stables, ridden by A A Gallardo)- This filly has been knocking on the door of doing some great things, and did win the Grade 2 Mother Goose last year. Otherwise, we’re mainly looking at a horse here that has proven that she can run competitively with the best in the division. After all, she was fourth in the Personal Ensign last time out. However, she’s seeming to be needing just a little bit more to get over the hump and get more wins against this company. Perhaps Sunday will be the day.

10- Liberty Lake (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by F Pennington)- In late October of last year, Liberty Lake won the $200.000 Ticonderoga, for NY-Breds. That’s the last time she’s won a race. After the Ticonderoga, she continued to look good for a little bit, but ever since the Vinery Madison in April, she’s been less competitive. The one exception there was a third-place effort on the turf in the Just A Game. Works very well but needs to bring it on race day or the trainer will probably start to reconsider giving her these chances.

11- Ragnar (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by J Lezcano)- She seems to be the better choice of the two horses that the trainer is bringing here to the Spinster. In Ragnar’s last five races, she has finished third four times, including in the Grade 1 Ashland, as well as a trio of Grade 3’s over her last three races. To be third again, or better, she’ll have to have a career best, but this three-year-old may still be getting better.

12- Shining At Knight (Our Athletes, ridden by F Geroux)- In June, Shining At Knight had a strong effort in the Grade 1 Phipps, where she would finish second, and she followed that up nicely a month later by winning the Grade 2 DEL Handicap while earning a 100 SRF. However, the trainer looked to do something differently after that race and entered the filly into the KD Ladies Marathon, for her turf debut. She might never want to feel a blade of grass under her hooves again after that race (all kidding aside, the winner Lady Hilltopper, routed the entire field). Fortunately, she’s back on the main track, so we’ll not only throw that one out, but we’ll rip it to shreds. Won’t quite make my cut to be picked, though.

Prediction: 1-7-6-5

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES