Spinaway winner Vequist goes next in Alcibiades or Frizette
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The connections of Vequist don’t have any concerns about distance for their 2-year-old filly. That’s one of the reasons they weren’t against stretching her out from 4 1/2 furlongs to seven furlongs in Sunday’s Grade 1 Spinaway at Saratoga.
After Vequist romped to a 9 1/2-length victory in the Spinaway, she will go a little farther next time in either in the Grade 1 Frizette going a mile on Oct. 10 at Belmont or the Grade 1, $350,000 Alcibiades going 1 1/16 miles on Oct. 2 at Keeneland.
“We’ll look at both races,” part-owner Adam Wachtel said. “It’s hard to not want to run at Keeneland and run on the track where the Breeders’ Cup is.”
However, Wachtel said that the additional eight days from the Spinaway to the Frizette may be beneficial to Vequist, who ran a fast race in the Spinaway. Vequist covered seven furlongs in 1:22.29 and earned an 83 Beyer Speed Figure.
It was Wachtel who made overtures to Tim McGrath of Swilcan Stables to buy into Vequist even after she lost her debut by a nose on July 29 at Parx Racing. Wachtel and Gary Barber bought 75 percent interest in Vequist and left her with trainer Butch Reid.
Wachtel noted that he and Barber have purchased several horses based in the Mid-Atlantic and left them with their original trainers, including Still Having Fun (Tim Keefe) and Shotski (Jeremiah O’Dwyer). Both of those horses have won graded stakes in New York.