Saratoga Picks | Spinaway Stakes 2024

Aaron previews the 2024 Spinaway Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course & gives his top win pick from the top race for 2-year-old fillies.

Can The Queens M G continue her Saratoga dominance & pick up her 3rd stakes victory this early in her racing career?

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The press release:

C Two Racing Stable and Mathis Stable’s The Queens M G has already won two local stakes and seeks a third during her young racing career in Saturday’s Grade 1, $300,000 Spinaway, a seven-furlong test for juvenile fillies, at Saratoga Race Course.

A field of 11 has entered the event that is part of the “Breeders’ Cup Dirt Dozen” Bonus Series for the Grade 1, $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies in November at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club.

The Spinaway is slated as Race 11 on Saturday’s 13-race program that also features the Grade 2, $500,000 Flower Bowl [Race 12], a “Win and You’re In” event to the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf, and the Grade 3, $200,000 Prioress [Race 10]. First post is 12:05 p.m. Eastern. Admission gates open at 10:30 a.m.

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Trained by Saffie Joseph, Jr., the Thousand Words dark bay launched a 44-1 shocker in the six-furlong Listed Schuylerville on July 11 but showed it was no fluke with a nine-length mockery of the 6 1/2-furlong Grade 3 Adirondack on August 4 here at Saratoga.

“She’s doing well. She came out of her last race well. She seems in good order,” said Joseph, Jr. “I’m excited to get her back here. The Schuylerville, we were trying to see where we were at, and we got a very pleasing result.”

Joseph, Jr. said that someone will have to step up in order to top his proven filly. The one loss in her four starts was a misfire as the favorite in the 5 1/2-furlong Astoria on June 6 here.

“She is 3-for-4, just one blemish in her career. She regrouped and got it done, with last time being the most impressive win so far,” said Joseph, Jr. “She seems like she keeps getting better and hopefully they don’t catch up to her yet.”

The Queens M G, out of the Grindstone mare Show Queen, was originally a $3,500 purchase at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale, before being bought privately after a victorious debut at 45-1 odds for trainer Israel Acevedo in April at Keeneland.

Dylan Davis will be aboard from post 8. All of The Queens M G’s previous efforts have come from the outside post.

Shortleaf Stable’s Kentucky homebred Quietside [post 11, Luis Saez] enters from a 6 1/4-length debut romp under returning rider Luis Saez to open the Adirondack’s card. Trained by John Ortiz, the Malibu Moon dark bay’s six-furlong final time of 1:11.03 registered a field-best 80 Beyer Speed Figure.

“I think she’ll eventually want to go two turns, but right now we’re stretching out from six [furlongs] to seven. Luis said he didn’t even have to ask her,” said Ortiz. “He just showed her the stick and she took off. I think there’s plenty more in the tank.”

Ortiz is no stranger to Spinaway success, capturing last year’s edition with Brightwork, who headlines the Grade 3 Prioress [Race 10]. He said that Quietside looks advanced at this stage and is ready to defend the barn’s title in the event.

“The number she got was pretty impressive, indeed, but not surprising. She’s got plenty of early speed and she is also very rateable,” Ortiz said. “It’d be nice to get back-to-back Spinaways, that’s obviously the goal right now.”

Quietside is out of the Grade 1-placed Speightstown mare Benner Island, who won the 2017 Grade 2 Eight Belles going the Spinaway distance at Churchill Downs.

Close by from a speed figure standpoint is Anthony Gentry’s Tiz Purple [post 4, Eric Cancel]. Trained by Jorge Delgado, the Tiz the Law gray graduated at second asking last-out sprinting six furlongs on August 7 here. The 1 1/2-length pacesetting score earned a career-best 79 Beyer.

In her lone other start, Tiz Purple was a close second to subsequently stakes-placed Me Governor traveling five furlongs on July 4 at Monmouth Park.

Out of the Graydar mare Purple Lights, Tiz Purple was a $40,000 purchase at the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Her second dam, Lavender Baby, produced graded stakes winner Baby J.

A contender to finish behind The Queens M G last-out is Bobby Flay, Rocky Top Stable and James Ventura’s stakes-placed Sherbini [post 2, Florent Geroux], who closed from 10th-of-11 to land 2 3/4-lengths back in the Schuylerville.

Trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse, the Cairo Prince gray netted the solid second after a 3 1/2-length debut score over returning rival Strong State sprinting in June at Churchill Downs.

Sherbini, out of the Violence mare Shady Violence, was a $40,000 purchase at the OBS March Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training. Her third dam is multiple graded stakes-winner Smokey Glacken, a half-sister to 1997 Champion Sprinter Smoke Glacken.

Casse will also saddle maiden Salted [post 6, Javier Castellano], a bridesmaid in her two starts to date, including to returning foe Immersive sprinting six furlongs on July 21 here. The Tapit gray, campaigned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Gary Barber and Bridlewood Farm, is out of the Casse-trained Grade 1-winning Quality Road mare Salty.

The Jeremiah Englehart-trained Bellacose [post 10, Junior Alvarado] provides New York-bred representation. The Audible dark bay crushed fellow state-breds by 10 3/4 lengths on debut over 5 1/2 furlongs on July 17 here. She was acquired by Resolute Racing racing following the eye-catching effort and originally entered the state-bred Seeking the Ante on August 25, but scratched.

Bellacose is co-owned by Christopher Dunn, Blue Tarp Racing, Chris Mara, Greyhound Stables, Nicholas Sgroi, Arthur Sgroi, Jonathan Sacks and Corrin Genovese.

Rounding out the Saratoga field are the following maiden winners:

• Immersive [post 1, Manny Franco] for dual Eclipse Award winner Brad Cox
• Reliable Source [post 3, Ricardo Santana, Jr.] for Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen
• Slang [post 5, Kendrick Carmouche] for trainer Norm Casse
• The Brendan Walsh-trained Pondering [post 7, Luan Machado]
• Strong State [post 9, Irad Ortiz, Jr.] for conditioner Al Stall, Jr.