Spikes Shirl tries Monmouth stakes off the claim

Spikes Shirl has changed barns multiple times this year while working his way up in class via the claim box. Now it’s time for the 7-year-old, who is in consistent form, to step up in class again for the $75,000 Get Serious Stakes for turf sprinters Sunday at Monmouth Park. Among his foes is the recent stakes winner Archidust, who also has changed barns this season for different reasons.

Spikes Shirl made two stakes starts on dirt early in his career, finishing eighth in the 2015 Juvenile Dirt Sprint at Keeneland and ninth in the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes the following spring at Oaklawn Park. He was unplaced in three starts at Oaklawn Park to start his 2020 campaign before finishing second in a race May 21 at Churchill Downs, claimed for $8,000 by trainer James Baker.

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Spikes Shirl returned to finish second for his new barn in a pair of claiming races June 4 and June 26 at Churchill. He was claimed for $16,000 out of the latter outing by Jerry Hollendorfer, who shipped him to Monmouth Park for the summer.

Spikes Shirl won a turf sprint at Monmouth, his first career outing on the grass, on July 17 and was claimed from that effort for $22,000 by Claudio Gonzalez. The new barn attempted to run him back on the turf, but his allowance/optional-claiming race on Aug. 9 was taken off the turf. He won anyway and was claimed for $20,000 by trainer Katie Lisowski on behalf of Lou and Mike Ottrando. He’ll run back for them in the Get Serious under Monmouth leading rider Paco Lopez, who was aboard for his first local victory on July 17.

Archidust won 4 of 9 starts last year while trained by Jorge Navarro, who was indicted on federal charges in early March in conjunction with an alleged racehorse doping scheme. His horses were sent to other trainers, with Archidust landing in the barn of Steve Asmussen.

The colt made his first start in more than four months in the Wolf Hill Stakes sprinting on the Monmouth turf on July 18, defeating American Sailor by 1 1/4 lengths, with Shekky Shebaz, who had been third in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, in third. American Sailor and Shekky Shebaz were subsequently first and second, via disqualification, in the Grade 3 Troy Stakes earlier this month at Saratoga.

Hector Diaz Jr. rides Archidust back after winning the Wolf Hill.