The Spinmeister makes his mark in Count Lathum Handicap

The Spinmeister stamped himself as the local favorite for the Grade 3, $200,000 Canadian Derby on Aug. 16 with a convincing win in the $48,740 Count Lathum Handicap for 3-year-olds Saturday at Northlands Park.

He paid $8.90 after finishing last as the heavy favorite in the $55,000 Ky Alta Handicap in his previous race.

With Jorge Espitia aboard, The Spinmeister stalked a fast pace while going extremely wide around the first two turns in the 1 1/16-mile race that drew eight horses. He started to move into serious contention on the stretch turn, took command on the middle of the turn, and drew off to win by 6 1/2 lengths over Private Money Game. Go Max held on to finish third after pressing the pace while going four wide. The 6-5 favorite, Tizawonderfulbuzz, posted interior fractions of 23.49 seconds, 47.55, and 1:13.12 before tiring to finish fourth.

“I wanted to save some ground early, but the horses inside of me weren’t cooperating,” said Espitia. “He’s a real nice horse and finished very strong.”

The final time was 1:46.23.

Part of the reason The Spinmeister rebounded from his disappointing effort in the Ky Alta was that trainer Rob Chabot took the blinkers off.

In the co-featured Fred Jones Handicap for 3-year-olds and up, For Cash upset the heavily favored Commander. He paid $7.90 as the second choice in the wagering. He was ridden by leading rider Rico Walcott.

The 1 1/16-mile race was basically a match race with For Cash dogging Commander the whole way. Commander, carrying the high weight of 128 pounds, looked like he was going to pull away mid-stretch, but the heavy impost may have caused him to tire late. For Cash, receiving eight pounds from Commander, got up in the last few jumps to win by a neck. Toccetive, a half- brother to For Cash, rallied to finish a distant third.

For Cash and Toccetive are trained by Dale Greenwood.

The final time was 1:45.21.