The late kick that carried Varoma from sixth to first in the final quarter-mile of a starter allowance on turf on Feb. 21 at Santa Anita left 82-year-old trainer Bill Spawr impressed. “That was quite a move she made,” he said Friday. Spawr was not as impressed when Varoma drew the outside post in a field of 11 in an allowance race at a mile on turf Sunday at Santa Anita. With temporary rails set 20 feet from the normal position, Spawr is concerned Varoma’s late kick will be compromised by a wide post. “It’s a tough post on the outside,” he said. “She’ll lose a lot of ground.” Varoma will be ridden by Mike Smith for the third consecutive race. Smith was aboard Varoma for a third-place finish in a $50,000 claimer at a mile on Jan. 7 and told Spawr that the loss was a learning experience. :: Serious horseplayers use serious products. Get DRF's premium past performances, now free for the first time “He said he was going to ride her differently and that she’d run better,” Spawr said. “She did. He wanted to get her settled and make a big run.” Varoma, a 4-year-old filly by Vancouver, was claimed for $50,000 last June, the day she won at a mile. Owned by Thomas Acker and Barry, Jeffrey, and Judith Becker, Varoma was winless in five starts before the 14-1 win on Feb. 21. Varoma’s success is part of an excellent winter-spring meeting for Spawr, who has won with 7 of 19 runners. “I’ve had horses that have really turned the corner and are doing a lot better,” he said. Spawr said race conditions have favored some of his runners, such as Varoma running in a starter allowance. In Sunday’s allowance race, Varoma will be tested by runners such as Glesga Gal and Thrumps Dream, who have run well in allowance races in recent starts. Glesga Gal, trained by Simon Callaghan, was fourth by a half-length in a similar race Feb. 12, her third start in the United States and the first time she had a trouble-free run through the stretch in this country. An Irish-bred filly, Glesga Gal was a two-time winner on the synthetic track at Wolverhampton, England, in 2020 and 2021. Thrumps Dreams has had only four starts. She won her second appearance in a maiden race on the synthetic track at Dundalk, Ireland, in February 2021 and was fifth of six in her debut at Santa Anita last May. Rested until March 5, Thrumps Dream returned to finish a game third in an allowance race at about 6 1/2 furlongs on the hillside turf course, losing by three-quarters of a length at 21-1. Trainer Richard Baltas thinks Sunday’s one-mile distance will be a better fit. “She had a good race the other day,” Baltas said. “Hopefully, she can get a good trip. “Hopefully, she breaks better than last time. She didn’t break real fast, but she recovered really fast and was right up in there. She made a good run down the lane.”