Carl Spackler Back at Age 5 for Maker's Mark Mile

A bright chestnut with a distinguished splash of white across his face recognizable from a mile away, a hearty combination of Carl Spackler 's looks, witty name, and charisma have made the horse a fan favorite across the country in the last few years. In a time where many of racing's biggest stars are sent to the breeding shed after a successful campaign on the track, it was to the delight of Carl Spackler supporters everywhere when owner Bob Edwards of e Five Racing Thoroughbreds' announced the son of Lope de Vega   would continue to race another year. A now 5-year-old Carl Spackler returns to the sight of his most recent victory as the headliner in the $650,000 Maker's Mark Mile Stakes (G1T) April 11 at Keeneland.

The aforementioned win was a gate-to-wire triumph over subsequent Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T) hero More Than Looks   in last fall's Coolmore Turf Mile Stakes (G1T). With the presence of the speedy Northern Invader  breaking to his outside, Carl Spackler could employ different tactics in the Maker's Mark, as the horse has never had an issue rating and coming with a devastating late run, as he showed in last year's 3 1/2-length romp in Saratoga Race Course's Fourstardave Handicap (G1T).

Four-for-six in 2024, Carl Spackler makes his first start off a five-month vacation, with his last outing being a disappointing sixth-place effort in the Breeders' Cup Mile. Trainer Chad Brown, who boasts an excellent 25% strike rate with horses entered off the layoff, has Carl Spackler nine-works fit heading into the Maker's Mark.

With regular rider Tyler Gaffalione sidelined with a broken ankle, 2024 Eclipse-winning jockey Flavien Prat has the mount on Carl Spackler, the 9-5 morning-line favorite in the field of nine older males.

Another grade 1 winner coming off the bench in the Maker's Mark is Amerman Racing's Trikari . The son of Oscar Performance   proved to be one of the best of his class in last year's sophomore turf division, notching victories in the Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T) and Secretariat Stakes (G2T) for trainer Graham Motion.

Zero-for-two in his only outings at Keeneland, including a last-out troubled sixth in the Bryan Station Stakes (G3T) during the 2024 fall meet, Trikari makes his 4-year-old debut with John Velazquez aboard.

A pair of formful older turfers taking the class jump into grade 1 company for the first time include Northern Invader and Silent Heart . The former, trained by Cherie DeVaux for West Point Thoroughbreds and David Ingordo, exits a narrow runner-up effort in the Feb. 1 Tampa Bay Stakes (G3T). Making his first start since July 2024 in the Tampa Bay, the Collected   gelding set testing early fractions on the front end and was caught late in the final strides in a track record time of 1:38.83.

The Brian Lynch-trained Silent Heart is another poised for the next level after clocking the fastest mile in the field in a blazing 1:31.92 when winning a Gulfstream allowance optional claimer this winter. He backed up the effort with a heartbreaking neck loss when third to Fort Washington  in the March 1 Canadian Turf Stakes (G3T). Like Northern Invader, the Heart to Heart   colt's recent speed figures suggest he more than belongs at the grade 1 level.

"(Silent Heart) has been very competitive in his stakes in Florida and with a little more luck, he would have won one," Lynch said. "He is doing very well."

A class contender cutting back for the mile Friday is the Shug McGaughey-trained Integration . A multiple graded stakes winner over 1 1/8-1 3/8 miles on the turf, the son of Quality Road   shortens up to a mile for the first time since finishing a third in last year's Maker's Mark Mile. While there should be some pace for him to run at, it remains to be seen whether he'll be quick enough to catch some of the sharper miler types down the lane.