Dixie Chick is Hot in Spinaway

Hot Dixie Chick has compiled a three-race winning streak (Bill Roberts/Horsephotos.com) Grace Stables’ HOT DIXIE CHICK (Dixie Union) spurted clear along the rail in Sunday’s $300,000 Spinaway S. (G1) at Saratoga to score her third straight win and firmly establish herself as the divisional leader on the East Coast. The dark bay lass, ridden by Robby Albarado and trained by Steve Asmussen, was bet down to 1-5 favoritism and rewarded her many backers with payouts of $2.60, $2.20 and $2.10. Hot Dixie Chick was content to track along the rail behind the pacesetting Bickersons (Silver Deputy) through splits of :22 3/5 and :45. Running to the outside was Beautician (Dehere), and the threesome stayed in much the same position all along the backstretch. Hot Dixie Chick ranged up and appeared ready to challenge Bickersons for the lead, but the front runner re-broke and Albarado wasn’t ready to force the issue just yet. The journeyman allowed Hot Dixie Chick to settle behind once again, but there was no holding her back exiting the turn.

Hot Dixie Chick shot through along the rail and easily opened up on her
rivals, eventually crossing under the wire 1 3/4 lengths in front of Beautician
while completing seven furlongs on the fast dirt in 1:22 1/5.

“She’s got a mind that’s spooky,” Asmussen said. “She’s extremely laid back.
(Assistant trainer) Scott (Blasi) said she was laying down in the holding barn.
Her demeanor is why she’s stabled next to Rachel (Alexandra). You can’t have a
better demeanor than that.”

Beautician, the 9-2 second pick, gave back $3.30 and $2.70 while ending the
$5.10 exacta. It was another 8 1/2 lengths back to Bickersons, who was worth
$5.60 and finished the $51 trifecta at 34-1. The 1-6-4-5 superfecta, with Sassy
Image (Broken Vow) following two lengths behind in fourth, returned $152.

Magic Appeal (Successful Appeal), Opus A (Read the Footnotes), Sky Fever
(Roaring Fever) and Snap Happy (Lion Heart) completed the order under the wire
after Worstcasescenario (Forbidden Apple) was scratched.

Hot Dixie Chick moved her record to 4-3-1-0 with this victory, her only loss
coming as a runner-up effort in her career bow on May 14 at Churchill Downs. The
dark bay lass stayed at that track to break her maiden by 5 3/4 lengths on June
13, then traveled to Saratoga to capture the Schuylerville S. (G3) by 6 1/4
lengths prior to this one. She’s already accumulated $285,685 in lifetime
earnings.

Bred in Kentucky by Santa Rosa Partners, Hot Dixie Chick sold for $340,000 as
a 2008 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga August yearling and was purchased by her current
connections for $435,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Calder two-year-old sale.
She’s out of Grade 3 winner and 2001 Prioress S. (G1) runner-up Above Perfection
(In Excess [Ire]) and counts a yearling filly by Speightstown and a 2009 colt by
Hard Spun as half-siblings. Above Perfection is herself a half-sibling to
multiple stakes victress Made to Perfection (Bolger), and the family also
includes Grade 3-placed stakes winners Some Sensation (Somethingfabulous),
Flying Sensation (Flying Paster) and Fabulous Flight (Flying Continental).