In a manner reminiscent of her victory in the Grade 3 Schuylerville, Maggi
Moss’ unbeaten So Many Ways swooped off a fast pace and drew clear in Sunday’s
Grade 1, $294,000
Spinaway
Stakes at Saratoga. The Tony Dutrow pupil was even more emphatic this time,
however. Subduing the harried 3-5 favorite Teen Pauline in midstretch, So Many
Ways stamped her authority by 2 1/2 lengths over the late-running Sweet Shirley
Mae.
“This filly came to Saratoga an infant and just as the weeks went by, you
could see her turning, putting on weight, growing, maturing,” said Dutrow, who
was winning the Spinaway for the second straight year. “I didn’t know where we
would finish today, but I was thinking we’d run better than we did in the
Schuylerville.”
Teen Pauline, who set a track record in her Spa debut, was part of a
formidable Stonestreet Stables entry. But the team was reduced by a half when
entrymate Dreaming of Julia was scratched, leaving Teen Pauline to sport the
silks alone. She never had a moment’s peace.
Outbroken at the start, Teen Pauline hustled through on the rail to take the
lead, but was under relentless pressure from Corail. After an opening quarter in
:22 1/5 on the fast track, Teen Pauline began to edge away, but Corail was still
dogged in pursuit.
Meanwhile, So Many Ways was reserved in third by Javier Castellano, watching
the top two fight it out. As Teen Pauline reached the half-mile mark in :45,
Castellano turned So Many Ways loose, and the Schuylerville winner pounced.
Teen Pauline had finally beaten off Corail for good, only to find a fresh
challenger, as So Many Ways drew alongside at the head of the lane. The favorite
gallantly tried to hang tough, but the duel didn’t last past midstretch.
So Many Ways got the upper hand through six furlongs in 1:10 1/5 and soon put
the race to bed. Sweet Shirley Mae, who had been a remote last early, made good
late progress without troubling the winner.
After stopping the teletimer in 1:23 3/5 for seven furlongs, So Many Ways
returned $9.80, $4.90 and $2.50 as the 7-2 third choice.
“I had a beautiful trip,” Castellano said. “She’s pretty quick out of the
gate, and she settled beautiful behind the two horses. Those two pacemakers,
they helped to set up my race. But I think if it wasn’t that way, no matter
what, she was going to be in the bridle today and she was going to be close to
the pace and give me the kick the way she did today.
“I love my filly,” the winning rider continued. “She’s been training
phenomenal, and the last time I rode her, she was very impressive. I think she’s
going to be really good. She’s got a long, beautiful stride. I can’t wait to
stretch her out a little bit. I think she can go farther, and I have a lot of
confidence with her.”
Kent Desormeaux was pleased with Sweet Shirley Mae’s closing kick.
“She made a super effort in the end,” Desormeaux said. “I was very proud of
her. I would like to take the credit, but it was all Wesley’s (trainer Ward)
idea. He wanted to make one big run with her, and she almost got the job done.”
A weary Teen Pauline checked in another two lengths back in third, and
trainer Steve Asmussen cited the track as a factor.
“I think how heavy the track played today — they closed like crazy,”
Asmussen said. “It was a completely different track than the one she broke her
maiden on.”
“She put me in the race nicely,” Julien Leparoux said of his trip aboard the
beaten favorite. “She showed me the same speed as before. She was doing it
pretty easily, but she couldn’t finish today.”
Seasoned Warrior, the 5-2 second choice, was run off her feet in fourth, and
Corail brought up the rear. Baby J was scratched along with Dreaming of Julia.
So Many Ways, now a perfect three-for-three, boosted her bankroll to
$307,800. In her June 9 debut at Parx, she broke to the early lead and opened up
in an eight-length romp. She showed a different dimension in the Schuylerville,
where she rallied from off the pace for a 1 1/2-length decision, and replicated
those tactics in the Spinaway.
“I was really feeling very strongly that she would improve off of (the
Schuylerville) today,” Dutrow reiterated. “I didn’t know if that was going to be
good enough because I didn’t know how good and talented Asmussen’s filly (Teen
Pauline) was. I knew she was talented, but I didn’t know how good.
“I’m not surprised, but I sure am happy. She came out of there with running
on her mind. Todd (Pletcher’s Corail) pushed Asmussen, and our filly picked up
the pieces. I think I said in the paper that our filly would finish up. We’ve
won it two years in a row now (following Grace Hall in 2011), and I can’t
believe where I’m standing.”
Bred by John R. Penn and John C. Penn in Pennsylvania, the daughter of
freshman sire Sightseeing was sold for $22,000 as a Fasig-Tipton Midlantic
October yearling. She is out of the unraced Dehere mare Happy Scene, making her
a half-sister to non-black-type stakes scorer Scherzi. Her second dam is Grade 3
victress Really Happy, and further back, she hails from the family of multiple
Grade 2-winning sire Event of the Year.
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