Spice Is Nice collects first stakes win in G3 Allaire Du Pont

Robert and Lawana Low’s Spice Is Nice, racing for just the second time in nine months, put away Dreamalildreamofu in mid-stretch and edged clear by 1 1/2 lengths to earn her first career stakes win in Friday’s $150,000 Allaire du Pont (G3) at Pimlico Race Course.

The 28th running of the 1 1/8-mile Allaire du Pont for fillies and mares 3 and up was the first of six stakes, four graded, worth $1 million in purses on a sensational 14-race Black-Eyed Susan Day program headlined by the 97th edition of the 1 1/8-mile fixture for 3-year-old fillies.

Spice Is Nice ($6.60) completed the distance in 1:48.71 over a fast main track to give both Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez and Hall of Fame-elect trainer Todd Pletcher their fourth du Pont victories. They previously teamed up to win the 2015 edition with Stopchargingmaria.

Dreamalildreamofu and Spice Is Nice broke from the gate and raced side by side through fractions of 23.54 and 47.62 seconds, chased closest by 80-1 long shot Landing Zone and 8-5 favorite Horologist along the rail in fourth. Spice Is Nice, on the outside, forged a short lead after going six furlongs in 1:11.15 and straightened for home with a slight advantage as Dreamalildreamofu refused to yield, but Spice Is Nice dug in for more inside the eighth pole for her fourth win from seven career starts.

“When she came by the wire the first time I was very happy," Pletcher said. "We weren't exactly sure who all was going to show some speed. Our main focus was just getting her away in good order and getting her into a good rhythm. When she does that she's very effective."

Full of Fun Racing and Madaket Stables’ Dreamalildreamofu was clear in second, two lengths ahead of Brad Cox-trained stablemate Getridofwhatailesu. It was another length back to Horologist in fourth, with Landing Zone fifth.

Spice Is Nice was purchased for $1.05 million as a yearling in September 2018 and is the son of two-time Horse of the Year and 2014 Hall of Famer Curlin and grandson of champion Bernardini – both Preakness winners. She was second in the Davona Dale (G2) last February in just her second start and wound up sixth in the Alabama (G1) over the summer before getting time off. She returned to capture a 1 1/16-mile optional claiming allowance April 9 at Keeneland by 2 ¼ lengths.

“She's a filly. We've always thought a lot of," Pletcher said. "I trained her mother. She's a big strong filly that took a little time to get it all together. After the Alabama last year, she just lost some weight and we needed to regroup and gave her some time off. It seems like it has paid dividends."

The du Pont honors the late avid sportswoman and horsewoman best known as the owner of Hall of Famer Kelso, the unprecedented and unsurpassed winner of five consecutive Horse of the Year championships from 1960-64.