Breeders' Cup winner Spun to Run has Cigar Mile in sight

Earlier this fall, trainer Juan Carlos Guerrero considered a freshening to end the season for 3-year-old Spun to Run. But the colt continued lively training, then went on to upset Omaha Beach in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile.

Might he add the Grade 1, $750,000 Cigar Mile under similar circumstances?

“He’s been running so good, and he’s in top form right now,” Guerrero said this weekend. “I’ve seen horses before that you decide to give them a break and they don’t come back the same.”

Aside from losing a few pounds shipping back from Santa Anita Park, Spun to Run “looks back to his normal self,” the trainer added, with the son of Hard Spun having resumed galloping Saturday.

“We’re just going to train him like we’re going to the Cigar Mile,” Guerrero said. “If he’s ready by then, we’ll go, and if not, we’ll just wait. We’re definitely thinking about the Cigar Mile.”

Aqueduct hosts the Cigar Mile on Dec. 7 along with the Remsen (G2) and Demoiselle (G2) for 2-year-olds and the Go for Wand (G3) for fillies and mares.

Campaigned by Robert Donaldson, Spun to Run gave the Parx Racing-based Guerrero his first Breeders’ Cup victory from a second career starter in the championships. Hustled away from the gate by Irad Ortiz Jr., he was never caught, gliding under the wire a 2 3/4-length winner.

“I don’t know how to explain it,” Guerrero said. “It’s something special. It’s different. When we won the race, I was all hyper and jumping up and down.

“Then I went numb. I couldn’t hear nothing.”

The trainer’s mind flooded with memories stemming from a 2011 allegation of assault against a woman at Parx. The charge was eventually dropped, and Guerrero had a 10-year ban from working at his home track lifted — but not before he considered his career as a trainer might be finished.

“I couldn’t believe where I was a few years back, and now I win the Breeders’ Cup,” he said. “It’s unbelievable.

“When I had all those issues, it was very hard for me. I’ll be honest. I was ready to do something bad to myself. It was crazy. My wife was so supportive. She kept me up and encouraged me through everything — my kids, too.

“I just decided to leave it up to God. I let him take care of it, and did he ever take care of it.”

Spun to Run, who took five starts to break his maiden, missed any shot at the Triple Crown series similarly to Omaha Beach, requiring surgery to repair a breathing issue. The colt markedly improved with the addition of blinkers, returning from his layoff to be third to Maximum Security in the Haskell Invitational (G1).

Spun to Run could meet that rival again in the Cigar Mile, with Grade 1 winner Roadster and consistent older horse Bal Harbour among other possible contenders.