Treadway Racing Stable’s Sweet Reason romped by 6 1/4 lengths over a sloppy,
sealed track at Saratoga on August 9 and was looking to prove her abilities on a
faster surface Sunday in the Grade 1, $300,000
Spinaway
at the Spa. Thunderstorms put paid to that idea, though, as the track once again
came up mucky and the Street Sense filly sailed home an easy winner.
Bahnah dead-heated for the win in the July 9 Schuylerville at Saratoga with
Brazen Persuasion and was determined to be alone in the winner’s circle this
time around. The bay miss set the pace through fractions of :22 2/5 and :45 3/5,
but was unable to shake loose from her rivals as Art of the Game was the first
to apply pressure, swiftly followed by Sweet Whiskey and Stopchargingmaria.
All the while, Alex Solis allowed Sweet Reason to lope along near the rear
while wide. He hit the button rounding the turn and the bay miss took off,
circling five wide to easily gain control entering the stretch. She merely drew
off from there, finishing seven furlongs in 1:23 2/5 for trainer Leah Gyarmati
while 5 3/4 lengths clear on the wire.
“She was just doing her thing. She’s so special,” Solis praised his
mount. “The other morning when I worked
her, two horses broke off six lengths in front of her and by the
three-sixteenths pole,
she had caught them and blew by them. That’s what she does.
“She is just having
fun. She runs like she has done it her whole life. She won easily. At the
half-mile pole, she switched leads and I just let her do her own thing. At the
quarter-pole, she took the lead and I just kept on her a little bit to keep her
occupied. She is very special.”
“It
was spectacular!” Gyarmati enthused. “Obviously, she ran impressively first time
out when she won, but it was an off-the-turf race and the competition wasn’t
anywhere near what she faced today. So, this is thrilling to do what she did
against horses that have proven they are very, very nice horses.
“I was not confident enough to say I should be 8-5, but I thought she would run
very well,” the conditioner added. “I knew she would come running at the end; I
just didn’t know where that would put us.
“She trains very well on a dry track. I’m sort of anxious to see how that
translates into what she does in the afternoon on a dry track. But that’s OK,
this is good enough for me for now. I can live with this for a while.”
Sweet Reason, the 5-2 second choice in the Spinaway who paid $7 to win, gave Gyarmati her first Grade 1
triumph as a trainer.
“Obviously, it’s very, very exciting, and it
couldn’t happen to a better owner,” Gyarmati remarked. “Jeff Treadway has tons of patience. He’s done
all the right things as an owner. He’s always done the right things for his
horses, and it paid off.”
Stopchargingmaria proved best-of-the-rest, 4 3/4 lengths ahead of Dancing
House in third. Sweet Whiskey, the 9-5 favorite, filled out the fourth spot
while followed under the wire by Designer Legs, Bahnah, True Blue Nation and Art
of the Game.
“I
thought both fillies ran well,” trainer Todd Pletcher said of Stopchargingmaria
and Sweet Whiskey. “It’s a peculiar track, and both of them were
trying an off track for the first time. I thought Sweet Whiskey probably didn’t
relish the going, but she kept trying to the end.
“Stopchargingmaria, I think, was second best on the day. The winner was
very good, but I was pleased with (Stopchargingmaria’s) effort.
She galloped out well. We’ll look forward to the (Grade 1) Frizette (on October 5
at
Belmont Park).”
Brazen Persuasion dug her feet in when the gates opened at the start and
refused to go despite encouragement from jockey Rosie Napravnik. The juvenile
filly eventually
walked off the track.
Sweet Reason is now two-for-two after taking her off-the-turf debut last
month. Bred in Kentucky by Brent and Beth Harris and Darley, the filly sold to
her current connections for $185,000 as a Keeneland September yearling. The
$180,000 winner’s share of the Spinaway purse — which combined with her maiden
score brings her bankroll $237,600 — shows the bay lass has more than earned that
back already.
Sweet Reason is out of the stakes-placed Mt. Livermore mare Livermore Leslie,
making her a half-sister to Grade 3 victress Don’t Forget Gil. Livermore Leslie
is herself a half-sibling to Grade 3 hero Highland Gold as well as the
stakes-placed Fountain Square, who is the dam of Grade 2 winner Timber Reserve.
Farther back this female family also boasts Horse of the Year Moccasin as
well as champions Gamely and Ridan.
Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com