Dutrow hoping the real I Spent It shows up

ELMONT, N.Y. – Tony Dutrow is more interested in looking back than looking ahead when it comes to his 2-year-old I Spent It.

When Dutrow brings I Spent It to Belmont Park for Saturday’s Grade 1, $500,000 Champagne Stakes, he is simply hoping to see the horse who dazzled in his first two starts and not the one who disappointed in the Grade 1 Hopeful at Saratoga. The Breeders’ Cup? Any thoughts about that will come later.

“I’m viewing this as getting him on track to his maiden and Saratoga Special wins,” Dutrow said. “Not that I need this horse to win the Champagne. I need him to act and race like he did in his maiden race and the Saratoga Special.”

I Spent It acted and raced like a real professional in winning his debut here July 2 and the Grade 2 Saratoga Special at Saratoga on Aug. 10. In the Grade 1 Hopeful on Sept. 1, I Spent It became unglued in the paddock and never really settled down on the track or in the starting gate. Still, he did run well enough to be second, albeit 5 3/4 lengths behind Competitive Edge.

“I think the horse was visibly out of sorts to everyone that saw it in the paddock, and I don’t think it stopped until after the race,” Dutrow said. “I do think that played a big part in that horse’s disappointing performance.”

I Spent It is based at Fair Hill, a training center in Maryland, but Dutrow shipped him to Delaware Park to school in the paddock and gate.

I Spent It will have a new rider for the Champagne, as Javier Castellano has jumped off to ride the maiden winner Daredevil for trainer Todd Pletcher. Jose Lezcano has picked up the mount on I Spent It.

“I’m hoping for the best,” Dutrow said. “What else can I do? Concerns? Yes. I felt Javier rode I Spent It well.”

In addition to Daredevil, I Spent It will take on the New York-bred stakes winner Upstart and maiden winners El Kabeir, Holy Boss, and The Truth Or Else.

The Champagne, a one-turn, one-mile race, is a Win and You’re In for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.