Full field likely for Spiral Stakes

Unlike next Saturday’s Florida Derby, in which few are eager to enter horses against Kentucky Derby favorites Mohaymen and Nyquist, Turfway Park’s Grade 3 Spiral Stakes that same day is expected to be overflowing.

With the race offering a $500,000 purse and lacking a standout 3-year-old, a full field is likely, and if overdrawn, some horses could have to run in the $100,000 Rushaway on the undercard as an alternative.

Airoforce, one of the top juveniles of last year who disappointed in his seasonal debut when 10th in the Risen Star at Fair Grounds, is probable to start, provided he works well in Ocala, Fla., on Saturday, trainer Mark Casse said. He did March 17, covering five furlongs in 58.80 seconds over the Ocala Training Center’s synthetic surface.

Turfway Park’s leading rider, Alex Jimenez, will have the mount, Casse said.

According to Turfway Park stakes coordinator Randy Wehrman, the other top Spiral prospects include Surgical Strike, the Fair Grounds allowance winner Jensen, and Don’t Be So Salty.

Both Surgical Strike and Don’t Be So Salty are proven on Polytrack, the synthetic surface at Turfway, with Surgical Strike taking the John Battaglia Memorial, the final local prep for the Spiral, and Don’t Be So Salty winning the Display Stakes last year on the Polytrack surface that was in place at Woodbine before it was replaced with Tapeta this year.

Trainer Mike Maker said Friday he plans to run four horses in the Spiral: Two Step Time, Swagger Jagger, Oscar Nominated, and Strike Up the Band. Oscar Nominated and Two Step Time, stakes winners on turf, seem like his best hopes.

Wehrman said trainer Todd Pletcher is likely to run either Azar or Gimlet in the Spiral, though the latter could be excluded if the race is overdrawn. They both worked a half-mile in 50 seconds on Friday at Palm Beach Downs.

Earnings likely will be a big factor in determining which horses gain entry into the 1 1/8-mile Spiral and which are relegated to the 1 1/16-mile Rushaway. Preference in the Spiral is given first to graded stakes winners, then stakes winners, and, lastly, to horses with the highest earnings.

These preferences could leave a talented horse like Kasseopia out of the Spiral. Although he is an accomplished synthetic-track performer who ran second in the Grade 3 Grey at Woodbine last year and third in the Grade 3 El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields this year, he is simply a maiden winner with $53,726 in earnings.

With Turfway’s starting gate being smaller than most, the field size is limited to 12 horses.

There is an also-eligible list with room for two horses, but a Kentucky rule prevents a horse from being in two races on a given day at a given Kentucky track, Wehrman said. So, the connections of a horse who cannot make the body of the Spiral may have to decide whether to hope to draw into Spiral as an also-eligible or opt for certainty and run in the Rushaway for less money.

In addition to the Spiral and Rushaway, the Grade 3 Bourbonette Oaks for 3-year-old fillies is part of next Saturday’s card at Turfway. The races will be drawn Wednesday.