Street Spice preps for Hawthorne Gold Cup
STICKNEY, Ill. – Over the last few seasons, trainer Greg Geier has had a problem during the summer. The best horses in his small stable have not raced well over the Polytrack surface at Arlington, Geier’s summer base.
That includes Street Spice, who, after four poor showings through the spring and summer, got back on track when returning to two-turn dirt racing last month at Indiana Grand. He can take another step toward a second straight appearance in the Hawthorne Gold Cup when he starts in the featured seventh race Friday at Hawthorne.
Street Spice is one of seven horses entered in a two-turn dirt race with multiple high-end allowance conditions and a $50,000 claiming option. The Friday feature, the best race so far at this young meet, is a prep for the $250,000 Hawthorne Gold Cup on Nov. 29 as well as the $75,000 Bucks Boy for Illinois-breds on Nov. 15.
Street Spice finished a good third behind Last Gunfighter and Mister Marti Gras in the 2013 Gold Cup, and in February, he ran second in the $100,000 Essex at Oaklawn. But then came four straight stinkers, all of which either were at the wrong distance or on the wrong surface. Back in a better spot Sept. 3 at Indiana Grand, Street Spice finished a well-beaten second but got in a useful comeback race after falling into poor form. He should take a step forward Friday.
“He ran good enough the other day. We’re hoping this can lead to the Gold Cup,” said Geier, who trains Street Spice for the heirs of breeder Jim Tafel, who died in June.
Geier said there’s been no change in his relationship to the Tafel stable. A Tafel homebred, Tiz Windy – trained by Carl Nafzger – won the $200,000 Indiana Oaks last Saturday, and the Geier-trained Tafel homebred Fordubai finished third in the $100,000 Schaefer on the same card. Fordubai loomed boldly and took the lead in that race at the quarter pole but lost his momentum and was nailed late by two horses he already had passed.
“He does that. He waits on horses,” Geier said. “I thought we were a winner at the sixteenth pole.”
If Street Spice still isn’t all the way back, Francois, Dad Are We Here, or Flashy Sunrise could take advantage of what should be a demanding early pace.