Spiral Stakes

COUNTDOWN REWIND: SPIRAL STAKES

By Jeremy Plonk

Date: Saturday, March 23, 2013
Track: Turfway Park
Kentucky Derby Points Awarded: 50-20-10-5
Distance: 1 1/8 miles (2 turns) on Polytrack

HANDICAPPERS’ RECAP: For the sixth time in the eight-year Polytrack history of the Grade 3 Spiral, the winner was a horse who wintered on turf in Florida. BLACK ONYX, sent away at 15/1 odds, became the fourth straight Spiral winner to take that similar prep path, and was only one of two such horses entered in this year’s edition with that kind of resume. The other, TAKEN BY THE STORM, wound up fourth in the Spiral at 22/1 odds. Despite a large field of 12 entered, a lack of quality early speed made this race susceptible to a front-end domination. The horses running 1-2-3-4 after the opening six furlongs, all racing within a length of the lead, remained the top four finishers at the wire. The race was upside-down of the public’s misconceptions of what wins a race like the Spiral. Of the top five wagering choices in the race, four of them finished in the bottom five placings between eighth and last.

ON THE CLOCK: The Spiral is a funky race to evaluate on times each year. The 1:51.98 clocking for 1 1/8 miles rates the second-slowest on Polytrack for this race over eight years. But the slowest, a full two lengths slower than this year, belongs to Animal Kingdom, who parlayed his Florence glacier into a Kentucky Derby julep two years ago. What’s most telling from the clock is the fact that this year’s Spiral slowed every fraction like a dirt race. They went in 23.74, 24.56, 24.70 and 25.36 quarters, before a dawdling 13.62 final furlong. They were headed to the high-27s if this race was the classic distance, and yet not a single horse was doing anything about it in the late going.

THE EYE TEST: BLACK ONYX didn’t break with an affinity for the surface according to jockey Joe Bravo, and was slower than expected under the line the first time. But he jumped into the bit and rushed up widest of all into the clubhouse turn. He remained wide while patiently stalking down the backstretch and into the far turn. TAKEN BY THE STORM made a bold move midway on the far turn and tried to win the race there, and that’s when Bravo sent BLACK ONYX directly behind him in pursuit. UNCAPTURED, making his first start of the year after some training setbacks this winter, did not quicken instantly with BLACK ONYX at that point and continued on evenly to be second. It was good to see UNCAPTURED break alertly and come back to hand for his rider Miguel Mena despite being fresh off the bench. GIANT FINISH ran hard between horses for much of the trip and has had some bad racing luck and post draws in his two trips to Turfway. He could win something decent with a little luck. But this pack of four separated from the closers about three furlongs out and felt no late challenges. The pack bunched some at the wire with the top seven finishers separated by only 4 ½ lengths. BALANCE THE BOOKS clearly was the big disappointment in his 3-year-old return, never picking up a hoof. He missed the Palm Beach Stakes as his planned comeback and it showed.  FEAR THE KITTEN didn’t show a great deal after distant placings at Oaklawn and Fair Grounds, so it’s hard to get a regional barometer because of the surface change. CAPO BASTONE dropped far back early from the outside post and had no run.

PROJECTING THE SPIRAL STAKES FORWARD: BLACK ONYX will be one of first horses on the grounds at Churchill Downs and train up to Derby.  The Rock Hard Ten colt has run well on dirt in the past and has enough pedigree for the distance. His works between now and then should tell quite a bit. UNCAPTURED will be aimed next at the Grade 1 Blue Grass, giving him two Derby preps at the six-week and three-week out intervals. This was a representative return for the successful juvenile, and an extremely difficult assignment given the distance and surface. He’ll need to get better in the Blue Grass, but that’s not out of the question. Expect to see CHANNEL ISLE and FEAR THE KITTEN back in the Blue Grass for connections apt to run there, while GIANT FINISH, TAKEN BY THE STORM and MY NAME IS MICHAEL also could be Blue Grass possibilities. FOR GREATER GLORY makes sense in the Illinois Derby. Here’s hoping hot 2012 juveniles BALANCE THE BOOKS and CAPO BASTONE will be directed back at what they do best, turf and one-turn sprints, respectively.