The Mint Million (Grade 3)- $1,000.000 Purse
KD- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile on the Turf
September 6, 2021

For the first time, the Mint Million was run within our virtual world, and hopefully it is here for a long time. Nine horses would go to post, attracted to it’s $1,000.000 purse, and our first winner of the race will be Spiral and Mb Stables, prevailing in a photo finish at the wire with Hollywood Hero. We did pick to Spiral to win, and in fact, we had the top three horses for this race! For Spiral, it is the eighth win for the five year old. Jockey Mario Gutierrez would celebrate in the winners circle with Mb Stables afterwards. Congratulations to them! The time was of the race was 1:32.69. Here’s a look at it!

(¼ Mile- :23.06)- Hollywood Hero jumps out to the lead for Nakamura Stables, and he has some company there as Stylishly Ugly, out of Royalty Stables, runs to his outside and within half a length. These two have about a two length lead on the rest of the field, and it is our eventual winner, Spiral, who leads that group. He rides the rail with Out Hoofed (TwinTowersRacing) on the outside in fourth and Beach Xaar (Diablo Diablo) running between them. The next group of three follows very closely behind with Big Aspirations (Hippyheart) to the inside of Cobra Man (Arindel) and Time Warrior (Paradise Stable). It’s one more length to the trailer, Spicy Laga (Angelos Stable).

(½ Mile- :45.95)- As they move into the big turn, Hollywood Hero is still the leader, and his lead is now almost a full length on Stylishly Ugly. Spiral still runs third, still patiently waiting for his time to strike about three lengths from the lead. The primary mover during this portion of the race was Big Aspirations, who slid through an opening between Spiral and Beach Xaar. Out Hoofed is still running with them, too. Further back, Cobra Man, Time Warrior, and Spicy Laga continue to trail.

(Top Of Stretch, 2F To Go)- Hollywood Hero continues to lead, but as they enter the stretch, that advantage is shrinking considerably. Stylishly Ugly is not the one making the move either, as that one is still a length behind him. Moving forward, and now even with Stylishly Ugly, is Spiral, who has had a great trip on the rail up to this point, and that is something that figured to continue to the wire. Beach Xaar had also moved up, making it a three wide battle for second. Big Aspirations kept in close contact with them, and was within a length of that group. Meanwhile, Out Hoofed was losing ground, and none of Cobra Man, Spicy Laga, or Time Warrior were making a move.

(Finish- 1:32.69)- Spiral didn’t go flying by Hollywood Hero, as that one still continued to run well all the way to the wire. However, in the final furlong, Spiral nipped away at the advantage of his rival just a little bit with every stride, and as they got closer to finish, he would pull even. Hollywood Hero did what he could, but Spiral would be just a little bit better on this day, and that one would prevail in a photo between the two. There’d be a dead heat for third Big Aspirations and Beach Xaar, each of whom were a length behind the winner. Spicy Laga was next, then Stylishly Ugly, Cobra Man, and Out Hoofed. And eventually, Time Warrior crossed the line as well.

About The Winner- Spiral, trained by Mb Stables and ridden by Mario Gutierrez, is a five year old gelding by Dumbell Press and is out of the late Michael Blackson. He was bred by Team 7 Illusions as a third quarter two year old in Florida and was acquired by Mb Stables when he was still unraced, in private sales for $12.000 in September 2018. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his eighth in 18 starts, his sixth stake win, and fourth graded win. His career earnings are now $1,868.330.

Track: Firm
Time: :23   :45⁴  1:08⁴  1:32³

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 1 – 2 Paid 18.30
$1 Trifecta: 1 – 2 – 4 Paid 35.50, 1 – 2 – 5 Paid 35.50

Scratched: Gran Z

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES