Vequist Dominates Field in Spinaway Stakes

Making a private purchase of a young Thoroughbred can be risky business.

There's plenty of chatter about the success stories.

Not so much about the busts.

Suffice it to say, there will be a buzz about Vequist.

After the 2-year-old daughter of Nyquist  lost by a nose at 4 1/2 furlongs in her July 29 debut at Parx Racing, Gary Barber and Adam Wachtel contacted owner/breeder Thomas McGrath of Swilcan Stables and purchased a 75% share of the filly.

Barber and Wachtel agreed to keep Robert "Butch" Reid Jr. on board as Vequist's trainer, and he originally planned to run the filly back in a maiden race. But the speed figure that enticed the new owners to buy her, also convinced Wachtel to prod Reid about running the maiden in the seven-furlong Sept. 6 Spinaway Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course.

Reid listened.

"And I'm glad I did," he said. "She just became a valuable commodity."

Living up to Reid's belief that more distance would bring out the best in the daughter of the 2016 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) winner, Vequist ($15.20) prompted the early pace and then pulled away with ease in the stretch to register a dominant 9 1/2-length victory over the Ohio-bred Esplanande in the $250,000 race for 2-year-old fillies.

The Spinaway also marked a grand day for Nyquist, a Darley stallion, as Vequist accounted for the first grade 1 winner from the 2015 2-year-old champion and he also sired the third-place finisher, Phoenix Thoroughbreds' Lady Lilly.

"This was Adam's idea," Reid said. "As a trainer I'm looking to get my horses in the easiest possible company, but her numbers were so good in that (maiden) race. I would have run her in a maiden race, if it was my call."

While the new owners were impressed with Vequist's speed figure, it was the way she had been training that caught Reid's attention and filled him with confidence about running her at longer distances.

"We breezed her out of the gate one time (July 21) and she was only supposed to go a half-mile but she went in :48 and just kept going 1:01, 1:13, and 1:26. Even though we ran her in that 4 1/2-furlong race, it was more of just getting a race under her belt. She was going to be looking for longer things down the road. You don't expect to win a grade 1 with a maiden, but I knew the distance wasn't a problem."

Speaking of problems, it was another rough day for the even-money favorite in the Spinaway, John Oxley's Beautiful Memories. After stumbling at the start of the July 16 Schuylerville Stakes (G3) and being pulled up as a 1-2 favorite, she stumbled slightly in the Spinaway. This time, however, the Mark Casse-trained Hard Spun  filly recovered and was a close third in the six-horse field after the opening quarter-mile. But then she dropped back abruptly on the turn and finished the race under a protective hold by jockey Jose Ortiz, winding up 58 lengths behind Vequist.

"She stumbled again but was able to get into contention. Then she completely stopped on me," Ortiz said. "I don't know what's going on with her."

WinStar Farm, Timothy Hamm, and Michael Lewis' Esplanande set the pace in the Spinaway, leading by a length over Vequist through fractions of :22.41 and :44.87. Vequist took over with three furlongs left and motored to a four-length lead at the eighth pole while crossing the wire in 1:22.29 under Luis Saez.

"Everything went so well," Saez said. "When we came to the stretch, she took off."

Vequist is the third foal from the Mineshaft  mare Vero Amore to race and the first stakes winner. She also has a yearling filly by Astern and a weanling filly by Daredevil .

Esplanande, a daughter of Daredevil trained by Hamm, came into the Spinaway undefeated with a pair of victories over males in stakes restricted to Ohio-breds. She was 1 1/2 lengths ahead of Lady Lilly, who was a maiden winner earlier in the meet for trainer Steve Asmussen.

Reid said he was told Vequist was eligible for the Breeders' Cup, but he was uncertain of where he'll run her next. How long the race will be is less of a mystery.

"This will probably be her last start in a one-turn race," he said.

NOTES: Trainer Todd Pletcher had two winners on Sunday's card to open a 31-26 lead over Chad Brown in the race for the Spa's training title heading into the Sept. 7 closing-day card. Brown has horses entered in eight races Monday, while Pletcher has a starter in 10 of the 14 races.

Jose Ortiz and his brother, Irad Ortiz Jr., are tied among jockeys with 57 winners.

Video: Spinaway S. (G1)