Brown's persistence with Spirit of St Louis pays off big time
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HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Patience and persistence paid off for the connections of Spirit of St Louis, the 6-year-old New York-bred gelding who became a Grade 1 winner Saturday by prevailing in the $983,400 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational by a neck over Integration at Gulfstream Park.
Trainer Chad Brown had to convince Gulfstream Park racing officials that despite a resume that included mostly wins against New York-bred company, Spirit of St Louis belonged in this Grade 1 stakes. Under Tyler Gaffalione, Spirit of St Louis got up in the final strides to beat Integration by a neck, both horses earning career-best Beyer Speed Figures of 102.
Brown was patient in bringing Spirit of St Louis along. He didn’t make his first start until February of his 4-year-old year, when he won a maiden race on dirt at Aqueduct. After a second-place finish on dirt, again at Aqueduct, Spirit of St Louis was moved to the turf, where he flourished. Though racing mostly in New York-bred company, Spirit of St Louis won seven of 10 turf races, his lone off-the-board finish coming when fifth in the Grade 1 Coolmore Turf Mile at Keeneland last October.
Overall, Spirit of St Louis now has a record 10-3-0 from 14 starts and has earned $1,267,150 for owners Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables and Richard Schermerhorn. Spirit of St Louis is a full brother to Bar of Gold, who, as a 5-year-old in 2017, upset the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at 66-1.
“We gelded him a couple of years ago, the horse matured physically over time,” Brown said of Spirit of St Louis. “Given his pedigree, you’d imagine he’d have the chance to get better as he got older. He’s only been off the board once and he had a bad trip at Keeneland.
“He’s just a consistent horse, especially on turf when you’re trip dependent, weather dependent, different types of courses,” Brown added. “It’s remarkable he’s only been off the board once, I don’t care what you’re running against.”
Brown said Sunday that Spirit of St Louis came out of the race in good order and his mid-range target is the Turf Classic at Churchill Downs on the May 3 Kentucky Derby card. Brown said if he opts for a start beforehand it could be in the Grade 2, $300,000 Muniz Memorial Classic at Fair Grounds on March 22.
Brown had two other horses invited to the Pegasus Turf. Redistricting, a multiple graded-stakes-placed runner, is pointing to the Muniz after missing the Pegasus Turf with a minor issue, Brown said. On Sunday, Redistricting returned to the worktab at Payson Park, going a half-mile in 50.20 seconds.
Brown’s other invitee, Running Bee, a three-time open stakes winner, is pointing to Saturday’s Grade 3 Tampa Bay Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs. Running Bee finished second, beaten a half-length, in last year’s Tampa Bay.
Meanwhile, Integration, the Pegasus Turf runner-up, is likely going to point to the spring/summer races in New York like the Man o’ War at Aqueduct, typically run in May. Trainer Shug McGaughey didn’t entirely rule out running in the Turf Classic at Churchill Downs, but said that would be weather dependent.
“It’s a very good race, [Integration] ran in it last year and finished fourth, but the weather wasn’t any good,” McGaughey said. “We’ll just have to wait and see how the weather is.”
Integration also has an affinity for the Colonial Downs turf course, which could make a race like the Arlington Million, likely to be run in mid-August, as a summer goal. Integration ran second to Nations Pride in that race last year.
Nations Pride finished ninth in Saturday’s Pegasus World Cup Turf, beaten five lengths. He was expected to ship back to England on Friday.
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