Spinaway, pair of turf stakes top Woodward undercard

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Grade 1 Spinaway may have come up short on numbers when it was drawn Wednesday, but certainly won’t be lacking for quality when it is run on Saturday. Not with a quartet of undefeated 2-year-old fillies in the lineup, led by Pure Silver, runaway winner of the Grade 2 Adirondack here earlier this summer, and a trio of impressive debut winners, Separationofpowers, Lady Ivanka, and Maryland invader Maya Malibu.

Trainer Rudy Rodriguez will be looking for a torrid pace scenario for Lady Ivanka, who rallied from mid-pack to capture her only start by eight lengths here on Aug. 9. Lady Ivanka has trained well, and she got a little extra schooling during her work on Monday, breaking off behind and running up on another team of workers in early stretch.

“I saw the other horses in front of me, so I let her sit behind them for a bit to take some dirt,” said Rodriguez, who was aboard Lady Ivanka in her work.

Rodriguez was able to slip Lady Ivanka inside her inadvertent company near midstretch, and the pair drew away to complete a sharp half-mile drill in 47.04.

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“We’ve been trying to take her back in the morning anyway, and she’s been doing really well,” said Rodriguez. “And she did it very comfortably in her work the other day.”

Rodriguez also thinks the stretch from 5 1/2 furlongs in her first start to seven furlongs for the Spinaway will work to Lady Ivanka’s advantage.

“I don’t think the extra distance will be any problem for her at all,” said Rodriguez.

Lady Ivanka will break from post 3 under Irad Ortiz Jr. Separationofpowers drew the rail, with Pure Silver in post 4. Maya Malibu is in post 5 with Javier Castellano aboard for the first time. Obvious Two completes the lineup.

The Spinaway tops a Woodward Day undercard that also includes a pair of Grade 3 races on the turf, the $300,000 Saranac for 3-year-olds and the $200,000 Glens Falls at 1 3/8 miles for fillies and mares.

The Saranac lured a field of nine topped by the undefeated Bricks and Mortar who’ll seek his fifth win in as many starts. The lineup, in post position order, consists of Mr Havercamp, Yoshida, Master Plan, Bricks and Mortar, Voodoo Song, Caviar Czar, Mo Maverick, Makarios, and Rocketry.

The Glens Falls also drew nine entries topped by Grade 1 winner Harmonize. California invader Estrechada, upset winner of the Grade 3 Waya earlier in the meet, has shipped east once again trying to pull off a graded stakes double here this summer for trainer Mike Puype. The remainder of the field comprises Waya runner-up Lottie, Summersault, Happyness, War Flag, Grateful, Sarandia, and Sweet Sandy.