Spinoff earns shot at Woodward with Alydar Stakes win
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer Todd Pletcher doesn’t believe Spinoff is strictly a Saratoga horse, but he will acknowledge the horse definitely likes it in upstate New York.
Spinoff reaffirmed his affinity for Saratoga’s main track with a solid 2 3/4-length victory over 3-5 favorite Endorsed in Sunday’s $85,000 Alydar Stakes. It was 4 1/2 lengths back to Bodexpress in third. Backsideofthemoon and Its All Relevant completed the order of finish. Tenfold scratched.
For Spinoff, it was his fourth win in 12 starts. His last victory came exactly one year ago when he captured a second-level allowance going 1 1/8 miles at Saratoga.
“I think two turns is more of the key,” Pletcher said. “I don’t think he’s a Saratoga-only horse, but he does clearly like it.”
Under Irad Ortiz Jr., Spinoff sat a stalking third, behind Its All Relevant and Bodexpress through a modest half-mile in 49.57 seconds.
Leaving the three-furlong pole, Ortiz asked Spinoff to run, and he took the lead approaching the quarter pole. Endorsed, kept in abeyance by Joel Rosario down the backside, advanced into second in upper stretch but never seriously threatened the winner.
Spinoff, a son of Hard Spun owned by Alain and Gerard Wertheimer, covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.60 and returned $8.40 as the second choice.
“Irad and I spoke in the paddock, and we thought [Bodexpress and Its All Relevant] would go and we’d be laying third and have the favorite to our inside,” Pletcher said. “Every once in a while, it unfolds like it looks on paper.”
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Rosario said Endorsed “wanted to pull a little today,” but Rosario wanted to wait before allowing Endorsed the opportunity to run.
“I wanted to have somebody to follow, when he takes the lead he waits a little,” Rosario said. “I think at one point I had time to go, but he just maintained his speed. Probably the horse that won the race had the jump on us anyway.”
The victory likely earned Spinoff a shot at the Grade 1, $750,000 Woodward Stakes here Sept. 5. Spinoff, second in the 2019 Louisiana Derby, competed in the Kentucky Derby (18th), Belmont Stakes (sixth), and Belmont Derby (11th).
“We placed him ambitiously before, so I don’t see why we wouldn’t give it a try again if he comes out of it well,” Pletcher said.
Spinoff gave Pletcher his 16th victory of the meet, which, after 19 days, puts him atop the trainer standings by one over Christophe Clement, two over Mike Maker, and three more than Chad Brown, the two-time defending meet leader.
Pletcher, a 13-time leading trainer at the Spa, doesn’t think he has the bullets to contend for another title this year.
“We didn’t come in expecting to have enough wins to win the title,” Pletcher said. “Grateful we’ve gotten off to a good start. I don’t think we have the volume to compete throughout the meet. In order to win these, you got to win every day. It’s going to take right about 40 wins these days, that’s a lot to keep going at this stage. I’m proud of my team, we’ve been understaffed all summer, everybody’s been putting in extra hours, overtime so it’s great to achieve the results we have.”