SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Trainer Bill Mott’s decision to switch Spiced Up to the turf to launch his 3-year-old campaign has already returned quick dividends, with the Juddmonte homebred remaining perfect on the grass after rallying to a 1 1/4-length victory over the odds-on Governor Sam in the Grade 3 Mahony Stakes Sunday at Saratoga.
Spiced Up opened his career by finishing off the board in two main-track sprints at 2. After being sidelined for the opening half of his 3-year-old season, the son of Quality Road finally returned in a six-furlong maiden special weight dash over the turf at Aqueduct on June 20, taking readily to the surface to register a well-graded (86 Beyer Speed Figure), come-from-behind 2 3/4-length victory. The performance gave Mott confidence to step him up into graded stakes company for his local debut in the 5 1/2-furlong Mahony.
Spiced Up raced toward the rear of the eight-horse field under jockey Junior Alvarado, rating off the blazing-fast pace set by Ortley Avenue and prompted by Gabaldon. The two posted early splits of :21.15 seconds and 43.71 for the opening half-mile. Spiced Up commenced his rally midway on the turn, swung wide into the stretch, then finished full of run down the center of the course to overtake Governor Sam in late stretch to win going away.
Governor Sam, a popular and easy winner of the Grade 3 Quick Call here last month, raced forwardly placed just off the early leaders, advanced to take command on settling into the stretch, edged clear, but could not resist the winner’s final surge. It was a half-length farther back to No Evidence, who rallied mildly to finish third.
Spiced Up completed the distance over a firm strip in 1:01.22 and paid $11.00.
“When they hung up the fractions and I saw where he was, I said ‘there was a chance’,” Mott said after the race. “We got a couple of races on the dirt and then we were forced to stop on him, to give him a little time. And the decision was made to bring him back on the turf this year. He’s halfway bred for it.”
Mott said visually he can see the difference in the way Spiced Up performs on turf compared to his earlier efforts on dirt.
“He was showing a lot of speed and not finishing on the dirt, at the eighth pole he was kind of folding it up,” said Mott. “But if they like the turf, it will carry them.”
Mott was a bit concerned coming into the Mahony about cutting Spiced Up back to 5 1/2 furlongs off his previous start.
“It’s a little different type of race going five and a half (furlongs) rather than six. To me, that sixteenth of a mile can make a huge difference to a lot of horses. But he was able to make it up today,” Mott noted.
Mott said the goal now for Spiced Up is the $2 million Franklin Simpson Stakes going 6 1/2 furlongs on September 6 at Kentucky Downs.
“That race is the reason we jumped over a condition race to see if we could get him eligible to go to Kentucky Downs,” Mott explained.
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