Spinster Stakes

It was billed as a match-up between 4-year-old reigning Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) and Nitrogen (Medaglia d'Oro), the leading sophomore filly nipping at her heels, but Gin Gin (Hightail) didn't get the memo, going wire-to-wire and holding off Nitrogen's last-gasp effort to narrowly upset the GI Juddmonte Spinster Stakes at Keeneland Sunday. The victory earned the Calumet Farm homebred an automatic berth in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff. Let go at 18-1, Gin Gin was prompted by favored Thorpedo Anna through fractions of :23.74 and :46.69,...

Idiomatic (Curlin) joined a select list of dirt distaffers to win back-to-back Eclipse Awards Thursday evening. Though she had the target on her back for most of the season, she won three of her five tries, including a towering title defense in the GI Spinster Stakes at Keeneland, a race sponsored by her owners, Juddmonte. A scheduled showdown between Idiomatic and eventual Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) in the Distaff, one of the most anticipated races of the year, had to be scrapped when Idiomatic suffered a...

Idiomatic (Curlin), the defending Eclipse champion older mare, capped a big day for Juddmonte Farms with a wire-to-wire victory in the GI Juddmonte Spinster Stakes at Keeneland Sunday. Hours after Bluestocking (GB) (Camelot {GB}) gave the operation its record seventh victory in the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, Idiomatic was sent off the 1-5 favorite in the Spinster, a Win and You're In event for the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff. The bay mare broke alertly and was soon at the head of affairs while pressed by Candied (Candy Ride...

Shadwell Stable's Malathaat (Curlin) strode home a powerful winner of the GI Juddmonte Spinster S. at Keeneland, earning an automatic berth to the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff. The 2-5 favorite was never far from the front behind a moderate pace and surged up to challenge Letruska (Super Saver) nearing the stretch. Malathaat ricocheted to the lead off the turn and never looked back, storming home a 5 3/4-length winner. "By the quarter pole, I saw Tyler [Gaffalione] was tapping on [Letruska], and I thought, 'You know what, I'm going to...

In this continuing series, we examine the past winners of significant filly/mare races by the lasting influence they've had on the breed. Up today is Keeneland's GI Juddmonte Spinster S., always a stellar race that also has a number of notable producers to its credit. First run in 1956, the Spinster has become one of the most coveted prizes on the racing calendar. There's just something special about the fall event and the copious champions it has attracted in front of the home crowd. Juddmonte, honored with the Eclipse as...

With the retirement of both Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) and Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil), Letruska (Super Saver) stands head and shoulders above the older mare division and is currently ranked second behind only Knicks Go (Paynter) among all runners in the country on the latest NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll. She'll look to put her raw brilliance on display over her home track Sunday in Keeneland's GI Juddmonte Spinster S., a "Win and You're In" qualifier for the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff. The powerful 5-year-old bay beat both Monomoy Girl and Swiss Skydiver...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY - Though he quickly conceded that things could change, trainer Fausto Gutierrez said Sunday that GI Personal Ensign winner Letruska (Super Saver) is headed to the GI Breeders' Distaff, not the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. "I think it will be with the mares. I think this is the correct decision," he said. "I think there is a group where she is the leader. Anyway, this can change in any moment. You never know." The Personal Ensign was Letruska's fourth-straight graded stakes victory, three of them Grade Is,...

Valiance, previously a turf specialist who earned her first stakes win in a washed-off event last out, rallied from off the pace to upset the GI Juddmonte Spinster S. Sunday at Keeneland. The win sealed a berth in the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff for the gray and capped off a monster weekend at Keeneland for jockey Luis Saez. Beginning her career with three straight turf triumphs last year, including a score in Monmouth's Open Mind S., the $650,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga buy had to be shelved for over 10 months...