Maximum Security, Spun to Run rematched in Cigar Mile
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Maximum Security beat Spun to Run by 9 1/4 lengths when they met in the Grade 1 Haskell, contested in the sweltering heat at Monmouth Park on July 20. A lot has happened in the 140 days since.
Maximum Security has run just once in the last 20 weeks, owing in part to a severe bout of colic that landed in him an equine clinic for a day in late September. Meanwhile, Spun to Run has won three of his last four starts, including a sensational 2 3/4-length victory over Omaha Beach in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile five weeks ago at Santa Anita.
Saturday, in the frozen tundra that will be Aqueduct, Maximum Security and Spun to Run are set to battle again in the Grade 1, $750,000 Cigar Mile, a race that is likely to have Eclipse Award ramifications.
:: Cigar Mile 2019: News, Analysis, Entries, Contenders, Beyer Speed Figures, Results, and PPs
A victory by Maximum Security would be his third Grade 1 of the year. In addition to the Haskell, Maximum Security won the Florida Derby. Oh yeah, he also crossed the finish line first in the Kentucky Derby, but was disqualified to 17th for interference nearing the top of the stretch. A victory by Spun to Run would be his third straight, and second in a Grade 1. But it likely would not be enough to wrest the title away from Code of Honor, a four-time graded stakes winner with victories in traditional Grade 1 fixtures such as the Travers and Jockey Club Gold Cup.
The temperatures aren’t expected to get out of the 30s in Queens on Saturday, but Maximum Security and Spun to Run figure to bring plenty of heat to the proceedings. Both like to be in the mix early. They will break alongside each other, with Maximum Security having drawn post 5 under Luis Saez and Spun to Run in post 6 under Irad Ortiz Jr.
www.drf.com/race-results/tracks/AQU/country/USA/date/12-07-2019
Maximum Security did rate a little in the Haskell before turning back Mucho Gusto. Spun to Run rated in the Grade 3 Smarty Jones and another listed stakes at Parx.
But in their most recent starts, both Maximum Security and Spun to Run won on the lead. On Oct. 26, in the Grade 3 Bold Ruler at Belmont, Maximum Security took some early pressure from True Timber and then Diamond King before drawing away to win by 1 3/4 lengths over a rail-rallying Tale of Silence.
In the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, Ortiz hustled Spun to Run away from the gate, and despite drifting out in the lane Spun to Run won gate to wire.
Though trainer Jason Servis said he wished Maximum Security had drawn outside of Spun to Run on Saturday, he doesn’t seem worried about getting hooked up in a speed duel.
“He doesn’t have to be in front,” Servis said. “He usually breaks good. Barring anything unforeseen, I imagine Luis will be able to get a good spot and go from there.”
Trainer Juan Carlos Guerrero believes the key to riding Spun to Run is let him do what he wants to do.
“When he comes out of the gate, he takes a couple of steps to get rolling,” Guerrero said. “Once he gets rolling, you put your hands down and let him have fun. I want Irad to let him run, don’t get in his way.”
Those looking to play against the two favorites have a number of viable options. Whitmore, third in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint and winner of the Grade 1 Forego at Saratoga in 2018, is the likely third choice. The rail draw shouldn’t compromise him as he does his best running from off the pace. On Dec. 3, 2016, Whitmore won a second-level allowance race at Aqueduct breaking from the rail.
Whitmore will wear bar shoes on both of his front feet, but trainer Ron Moquett said he has worn them in his last two starts.
“It seems to be a lot easier on him training-wise to leave him like that, so we figured we would the rest of this year,” Moquett said. “He ran in the Phoenix and the Breeders’ Cup with the same shoes.”
The New York-bred Pat On the Back won the Grade 2 Kelso on Sept. 21 at Belmont, but may have bounced when he finished third as the 3-5 favorite in the Empire Classic against New York-breds on Oct. 19. Pat On the Back excels at Belmont, but is 0 for 2 at Aqueduct. Trainer Jeremiah Englehart has had Pat On the Back training at Aqueduct throughout November.
“Obviously, if it was at Belmont I’d be a lot more comfortable,” Englehart said. “He’s doing well enough where if he’s good enough, he’s going to run well, if he’s not good enough he won’t.”
In 2016, trainer Chad Brown won the Cigar Mile with Connect, a late-developing 3-year-old who had won the Grade 2 Pennsylvania Derby. Saturday, Brown sends out the 3-year-olds Network Effect and Looking At Bikinis, both of whom had limited campaigns but who are coming off allowance wins at Aqueduct and Keeneland, respectively.
Bal Harbour was second to Preservationist in the Grade 1 Woodward. True Timber was second at 31-1 in last year’s Cigar Mile. Tale of Silence, Forewarned, and Nicodemus complete the field.
The Cigar Mile goes as the last of 10 races on a terrific card that begins at 11:30 a.m. and includes five other stakes, including the Grade 2 Remsen for 2-year-olds and Grade 2 Demoiselle for 2-year-old fillies.
The Cigar is also the last leg of an Empire 6 wager, whose entire pool must be distributed Saturday. The Empire 6 began the race week with a $520,913 carryover.
