Spin Master sets record in Matt Winn

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - When Spin Master won an allowance race in fast time this February in Florida, he looked like he might become a stakes sprinter. It just took him a few more months of development to show it.

Saturday in the $108,500 Matt Winn Stakes at Churchill Downs, Spin Master rebounded from a ninth-place finish in the Grade 2 Hutcheson Stakes on March 3, scoring a 2 3/4-length victory under Miguel Mena in stakes-record time.

Running to the promise he showed in winning his first two starts before his first defeat in the Hutcheson, Spin Master looked the part of a winner throughout, despite having to duel for the early lead. Racing three wide, he easily put away Run Alex Run and Weather Warning through fractions of 21.49 and 44.42 seconds and drew away in the stretch.

Spin Master, a 3-year-old son of Distorted Humor owned by Eldon Farm Equine and John Luke, raced six furlongs in 1:08.30, easily surpassing the prior stakes record of 1:09.43, shared by 2002 Matt Winn winner Day Trader and 2003 winner Posse.

Mena said he felt confident coming into the stretch when he had still not asked his horse for his best.

"I could tell I was a winner," he said.

Demarcation rallied from fifth to grab second but was unable to challenge Spin Master. He finished 2 1/2 lengths in front of favored Run Alex Run in third.

Winning trainer Dale Romans said he had not considered where to race Spin Master next, but suggested the colt was likely to return in a sprint or middle-distance race. He mentioned the Grade 1 King's Bishop Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 25 as a possible long-term objective.