Untapable Training Well for Spinster
As a champion and winner of both the Kentucky Oaks (G1) and Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1), Ron Winchell’s 4-year-old filly Untapable does not have much to prove. Still, the daughter of Tapit has given her connections reason to believe she could have an excellent finish to her season. Untapable enters Sunday’s $500,000 Juddmonte Spinster (G1) as the 9-5 morning-line favorite.
“She is just Untapable. She’s herself, and we are all feeling pretty good about it,” said David Fiske, racing manager for Winchell. “She’s training like she has always trained, looking and doing great. If the track is wet, that may be a wild card, but we’ve been pointing to the Spinster and the Distaff all year. Hopefully she’ll punch her ticket Sunday.”
After a sophomore season in which she won six of seven races and earned more than $2.8 million, Untapable has one win in five starts in 2015 with three runner-up efforts and a third-place finish. Trained by Steve Asmussen, she began her season at Oaklawn with a runner-up finish in the Azeri (G2) followed by a sharp victory in the Apple Blossom (G1). In three subsequent New York tries, she was second in both the Ogden Phipps (G1) and Shuvee (G3) before a third in the Personal Ensign (G1).
“She’s still awfully good,” Fiske said. “A lot of fillies would love to win a Grade 1 and the fact that she’s only won one this year – especially one as big as the Apple Blossom – is not a knock on her. Most of what has happened this year has been situational and just hasn’t fallen her way.
“We are hoping it works out for her tomorrow. Like most Tapits, she’s best when she settles comfortably. I wouldn’t mind seeing her in her usual spot a couple lengths off the lead.”
Fiske gave an update on another Winchell homebred daughter of Tapit, Grade 2 winner Just Wicked, who was sixth in Friday’s Darley Alcibiades (G1) after breaking from the far outside post 10.
“She came out great with no ill effects,” he said. “It’s another one of those situational things. She was drawn way out and it was a sloppy track. It could be that she’s a sprinter, but it’s hard to make that assessment off yesterday’s race. She has two mile and a sixteenth races in a row that aren’t stellar by any means.
“We’ll fall back and regroup,” he continued. “I don’t think we really would be confident enough to move on to the (Grade 1) Breeders’ Cup (Juvenile Fillies) after that. Maybe we will look at a race like the Golden Rod (G2) at Churchill.”
WELL-TRAVELED YAHILWA TAKING GRADE 1 SHOT IN SUNDAY’S JUDDMONTE SPINSTER
For D P Racing’s Yahilwa, Southern California may be her home base with trainer Jim Cassidy, but that doesn’t mean she’s a homebody.
“She likes to ship more than I do,” Cassidy said of the 5-year-old mare who will be racing at her eighth track when she goes postward in the 60th running of the $500,000 Juddmonte Spinster (G1). The stakes is a “Win and You’re In” race for the $2 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) to be run here Oct. 30.
“I didn’t want to go to New York (for last week’s Grade 1 Beldame) because I thought she would like this track better,” Cassidy said. “The Win and You’re In is not a concern. I just want her to run good.”
In her most recent trip to Kentucky, Yahilwa finished fourth in the Fleur de Lis (G2) at Churchill Downs in June behind Juddmonte Spinster rivals Frivolous and Tiz Windy. She won the Sixty Sails (G3) at Hawthorne this spring and in her most recent start finished second to division leader Beholder in the Clement Hirsch (G1) at Del Mar.
“She tries hard every time,” Cassidy said of the daughter of Medaglia d’Oro. “It doesn’t matter the surface – grass, synthetic, dirt – she runs the same every time.”
Should Yahilwa prevail Sunday against the likes of the past two Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) winners in Untapable andLovely Maria, Cassidy said the mare would remain here until the Breeders’ Cup.
MURRILL SCORES FIRST KEENELAND WIN ON OPENING DAY
Fresh off a solid Arlington meet in which he was the second-winningest rider, 21-year-old Alabama native Mitchell Murrill scored his first victory at Keeneland when he won the 10th race on Friday’s opening day of the Fall Meet. Murrill rode Savoy Stable’s Fancy Man to a 3¼-length victory for trainer Dale Bennett.
“I was really excited and it was a great run,” Murrill said. “I was really glad to ride this horse back for Dale. I was confident, though I admit I was a little nervous about him running in the slop. He seemed to take to it very well and I kept him outside where the footing was a little better.
“It’s great to be here and learn from these great jockeys,” he continued. “It’s much more of an exciting thing than an intimidating one and I am just trying to get better and work hard.”
Since beginning his career in 2013, Murrill has 152 victories from 1,198 starts with earnings of $2,630,092. In 2015 alone, he has scored 108 victories from 741 mounts, resulting in a 15 percent strike rate.
Source: Keeneland Association