Powerful Performance from Mor Spirit in Lewis

Mor Spirit powered away under Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens to a clear win in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita Park. (BENOIT photo)
By Claire Novak, @BH_CNovak
Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens delivered an icy ride and Grade 1 winner Mor Spirit responded powerfully in the $150,000, Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes on Feb. 6 at Santa Anita Park.
Michael Lund Petersen’s Los Alamitos Futurity winner progressed on the Road to the Kentucky Derby with a 1 1/2-length score in the 1 1/16-mile Lewis.
The race is worth 10-4-2-1 points to the top four finishers toward a place in the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands, and lifted Bob Baffert trainee Mor Spirit to second on the list with 24 points behind only 2015 champion 2-year-old male Nyquist.
“My main concern is the break and he was moving around a little bit,” Baffert said. “He got away there decent. … I have a lot of confidence in Gary and he knows the horse really well. He got him in his groove and turning for home ... it was exciting to watch him with his long stride just slowly wear them down.”
ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY LEADERBOARD
While I Will Score put his undefeated record on the line with a front-running effort and 7-1 Uncle Lino tracked from second, Mor Spirit galloped along in third in his season debut. Both horses on the pace did their best to turn back Mor Spirit’s bid after a :23.49 opening quarter-mile and a :47.78 half-mile, but once Stevens gave the signal to go after turning for home, Mor Spirit ground down the front two. Mor Spirit steadily surged through a mile in 1:37.10, passed his rivals with a sixteenth of a mile to go and finished in 1:43.21 on a fast track.
“I had a big smile on my face going down the backside,” Stevens said. “I was loaded coming into the stretch, and when they started sprinting, it took him about three strides to get by. He’s pretty special and I’m looking forward to facing the competition with him.”
Uncle Lino held on for second by half a length over I Will Score, an effort that greatly pleased trainer Gary Sherlock.
“I’m very happy; he ran good,” Sherlock said. “The pace scenario dictated that we had to do what we did today. We ran by I Will Score and beat him. I thought we were going to be able to pass him [I Will Score] no problem, but Gary just got a perfect trip [on Mor Spirit] and ran by us.
“We’ll move forward off of this. He won’t be leaving here. I don’t have to go anywhere; there’s a million-dollar race four hundred yards from his stall [the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on April 9]."
Mor Spirit returned $3.40, $2.40, and $2.10 as the 7-to-10 favorite in a field of six. Uncle Lino paid $5.20 to place and $2.80 to show, and I Will Score paid $2.60.
A $650,000 purchase by Petersen and Bernie Schiappa from the Wavertree Stables consignment at the Fasig-Tipton Florida select 2-year-olds in training sale, Mor Spirit now holds a record of three wins and two seconds from five starts for earnings of $378,400.
When asked what might be next for Mor Spirit, Baffert replied, “I don’t know. We know he’ll go on a plane to go somewhere, but right now, I’ll just go by how he’s doing. It’s just too far ahead.”

For an Equibase chart, click here.
MOR SPIRIT

BENOIT photo