Stuart Janney still has a bottle containing dirt from the old Keeneland surface. October 6th, 2008
Stuart Janney still has a bottle containing dirt from the old Keeneland surface. That always gave his horses fits.
But while Janney likes the new Polytrack, his star racehorse, Carriage Trail, might like it even more. She won the Juddmonte Spinster on Sunday in a record time, winning for the third time in four starts on Keenelands Polytrack.
And as for that vial of old Keeneland dirt?
Ive still got it, but its not in a very prominent place, Janney said. I kind of go, What is this, like a voodoo doll?
The 7 3/4 -length victory in the $500,000 Spinster automatically qualified Carriage Trail for the Breeders Cup Ladies Classic this month. That race will be held at Santa Anita, which recently installed a synthetic surface, making a trip west a likelihood for the horse that prefers surfaces other than dirt.
Carriage Trail has now at least showed in all eight races this year, winning three of them.
That was a big thrill today to see this filly do that, trainer Shug McGaughey said. Shes finally come into her own as a 5-year-old, and shes had a good year. This is kind of icing on the cake.
Carriage Trails time of 1:46.77 not only shattered the track record by more than a second, but it was a record-tying fourth Spinster win for McGaughey.
And, it appeared she could have won by even more if not for a wide-right stretch run under jockey Kent Desormeaux, who saddled Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown earlier this year.
She will drift out in her races a little bit, McGaughey said. I talked to Kent about that in the paddock. Sometime it may have cost her, but she was in front and there wasnt any sense in fooling with her.
Desormeaux said she and fellow jockey Robby Albarado, who was aboard beaten favorite Unbridled Belle, had joked that when the horse was turned loose, she just popped a wheelie.
She just floated over the ground, Desormeaux said.
Carriage Trail was running fourth at the three-quarter pole before surging ahead in the runaway victory. Model was second, more than a length ahead of Rosinka.
My filly ran huge, but that one horse in front of me was a runner, said Calvin Borel, Models jockey. We just got outrun.
Carriage Trail paid $9.20, $5 and $3.40. Model returned $9.20 and $6, and Rosinka paid $7.80 to show.
The race was the seventh win and youre in Breeders Cup qualifier of the weekend at Keeneland. In the other one Sunday, the Grade III Woodford Reserve Bourbon, even-money favorite Bittel Road won by a head for Todd Pletcher over Driving Snow. Ninth Client was third.