Spun to Run on Track for Cigar Mile
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Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt
Spun to Run after winning the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Santa Anita Park
Following an upset victory in the Nov. 2 Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) at Santa Anita Park, Spun to Run is likely to run in the $750,000 Cigar Mile Handicap (G1) Dec. 7 at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Trained by Juan Carlos Guerrero and owned by Bob Donaldson, the sophomore son of Hard Spun set the pace in the Dirt Mile and drew off to win at 9-1 under jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. He finished 2 3/4 lengths clear of even-money favorite Omaha Beach .
"We've been watching his training," Guerrero said of Spun to Run's Cigar Mile preparations. "He's come back well from the Breeders' Cup and recouped quickly, so it looks like we're going there."
The Dirt Mile was the third stakes victory for Spun to Run, who won the Sept. 2 Smarty Jones Stakes (G3) and Oct. 12 M.P. Ballezzi Appreciation Mile Stakes, both contested at Parx Racing, where Spun to Run is based.
Guerrero, who has conditioned Thoroughbreds for nearly three decades, earned his first graded stakes wins with Spun to Run.
"I've been working with horses for a long time, and it's been a dream come true," he said. "He's just been a dream. Right now, he's been easy to train. We've developed a good training program for him. It seems the more you give him, the more he wants."
Spun to Run was bred in Kentucky by Sabana Farm out of the stakes-winning Grand Slam mare Yawkey Way. A five-time winner in 11 starts, he was purchased for $64,000 by Donaldson from de Meric Sales' consignment to the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. Spun to Run has earned $1,010,520.