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Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile Winner Spun To Run Retired; Stud Plans Pending

Spun to Run, the dominant winner of last year's Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, has been retired from racing by owners Bob and Sue Donaldson.

Spun to Run won five races as a 3-year-old last year by a combined 20 lengths. His most important win came in the 2019 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Santa Anita Park where he led gate-to-wire to win by 2 3/4 lengths over favored multiple Grade 1 winner Omaha Beach. That deep field also included multiple Grade 1 winner Improbable, and graded stakes winners Coal Front and Mr. Money. He earned a 109 Beyer speed figure in the win.

In addition to his Breeders' Cup victory, Spun to Run captured the Grade 3 Smarty Jones Stakes and the M.P. Ballezzi Appreciation Mile Stakes where he ran a 110 Beyer Speed Figure, the second-highest for a 3-year-old at a mile or more in 2019. His brilliant 3-year-old campaign also included a strong second-place finish to Maximum Security in the G1 Cigar Mile, where he posted a -2 Thorograph figure, and a third place finish in the G1 Haskell Invitational Stakes. He retires with earnings of $1,160,520.

A brilliant miler with the ability to carry his speed, Spun to Run captured three of four starts at a mile, with his one second at the distance coming in the Cigar Mile. He ran less than a 1 on the Thorograph in six of his nine starts at three.

Owner Bob Donaldson commented: “From day one, this guy showed us his heart and determination, but most importantly, he showed us a mindset that was unlike any horse we had ever been around. With each start he just got better and more determined to simply outrun his competition.”

Breeder Migdaly Serra of Sabana Farm echoed Donaldson's comments about Spun to Run's class in an interview with The BloodHorse MarketWatch earlier this year: “From a very young age, Spun to Run behaved like he always has—like a champion. Everyone who worked with us in that year knew it. He was exceptional.”

Darley's Darren Fox added: “Spun to Run embodies many of the best qualities in Hard Spun. When I think of Hard Spun, I think of his heart, desire, and the will to win. Spun to Run embodies much of Hard Spun's heart and speed, that honest running style that says, 'Here's what I have, catch me if you can.' It's a joy to watch and is certainly something that runs in a lot of Hard Spun's progeny.”

Spun to Run possesses a top-rung pedigree to complement the brilliance he showed on the racetrack. He is by Grade 1 winner and champion sire Hard Spun, making him a grandson of the mighty Danzig. In addition to Hard Spun, other male-line descendants of Danzig standing at stud include: Danehill, Green Desert, War Front, Sea The Stars, and Kingman.

Spun to Run's stakes-winning dam, Yawkey Way, is also the dam of stakes-winning 3-year-old filly Tap It All. He is from the immediate family of Grade 1 winners Constitution, All Fired Up, Awesome Humor, Emcee, and Competitive Edge.

Stud plans have not been determined for the 4-year-old son of leading sire Hard Spun.

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‘Couldn’t Dream Of Anything Better’: Wayne Potts Celebrates Memorable First Stakes Win

It wasn't conventional, but it was memorable. As the years go by, Laurel Park-based trainer Wayne Potts will have no trouble recalling the circumstances of his first career stakes win.

The milestone victory happened Aug. 8 in Saratoga, when Raj Jagnanan's 8-year-old gelding American Sailor finished second in the $200,000 Troy (G3) but had his number put up following the disqualification of first-place finisher Imprimis for interfering with Shekky Shebaz, who ran third.

Potts' breakthrough in the 5 ½-furlong turf sprint for older horses also came as part of Saratoga's Travers (G1) program, the biggest of its summer meet.

“I couldn't dream of anything better,” Potts said. “I've had 12 or 13 seconds … but this was my first one. To knock them both out at the same time, a stakes and a graded-stakes … at Saratoga … on Travers day … it's unbelievable.

“I had dinner [that] night and my phone was beeping and dinging. As I'm walking my horse around waiting for the decision by the stewards, my phone's going off non-stop,” he added. “I had an outpouring of support from everybody just for finishing second in the race, and then when they put us up it was such a different feeling. I wish the stands would have been packed to get that experience but to get national TV coverage and to have that happen, it's fantastic.”

Potts, a 39-year-old native of Rockville, Md. who went out on his own in 2004 after working four years for Charles Town-based trainer David Rose, said he received 374 text messages following the race.

“I was on my phone until almost midnight [that] night trying to respond to everybody and then [the next] morning. It was great. Trainers from Maryland messaging me … the support that I got was amazing,” Potts said. “To the guys in Maryland and where I started back at Charles Town and Shenandoah [Downs] I'd say, 'Guys, keep dreaming. It can happen.'

“I started with one $500 horse. I started from the ground up, cleaning stalls and hotwalking, and I got to where I am today,” he added. “Again, I can't take all the credit. My owners are behind me. My help at the barn, they work endless hours. My assistants, I couldn't do it without them. I give them just as much credit as I give myself.”

Potts hauled American Sailor from Laurel to Saratoga and back himself, giving his stable star a few days off before bringing him back to the track. After getting the winter off for the first time in three years, American Sailor returned with an optional claiming allowance victory June 8 at Laurel, more than seven months following his 2019 finale.

“That race made me feel really good about him. I fought tooth and nail. My owner at first didn't want to give him the time, he wanted to go to Sam Houston like we had been doing,” Potts said. “It took a good 30 days for it to finally sink in and he said, 'You know what, if that's what you want to do go ahead and do that,' so I turned him out.

“He told me [after the race] and he messaged me again [the next] morning and said, 'I have to tell you, the best thing you ever talked me into doing was giving the horse the time off,'” he added. “He came back and he looks fantastic. He looks so good after giving him the time to drop his head and be a horse for the 60 days we gave him. It was great to see the flesh on him coming back. He really filled out and he's really muscled up. It was the right thing to do.”

Jagnanan was also on hand at Saratoga for the win, the 15th of his career for American Sailor, who saw his career bankroll swell over $500,000. Potts claimed American Sailor for $25,000 in September 2017 at Suffolk Downs, lost him for a $7,500 tag the following summer and got him back shortly afterward when Jagnanan purchased him privately.

Since their reunion, American Sailor has put together a record of 5-3-1 from 13 starts for Potts with purse earnings of more than $400,000, the bulk of his races having come at Laurel or Pimlico Race Course.

“Maryland racing is no joke. Maryland racing is very, very tough. Lots of good horsemen, lots of quality horses, lots of good trainers. Maryland racing is very, very competitive,” Potts said. “This horse, he means a lot to me. I'm taking [the DQ win] and running with it. I've been disqualified from races before and I was a little upset about it and the guys that got the win were smiling and walking away, so that's what I'm going to do.”

Potts said he will take his time finding a spot for American Sailor to run back. Laurel will be hosting the $100,000 Laurel Dash for 3-year-olds and up sprinting six furlongs on its world-class turf course Monday, Sept. 7 during the extended summer meet.

“We're going to play it by ear,” he said. “I'm going to take the next week, week and a half to see how he comes back and then get him back on the racetrack and go from there. I'm in no rush to wheel him right back.”

Potts was quick to credit Maryland Jockey Club outrider and ex-jockey Kaymarie Kreidel and current Laurel-based rider Tais Lyapustina with American Sailor's development. Lyapustina is recovering from a spill at Laurel three hours before the Troy was run.

“Kaymarie gallops the horse for me and Tais works him all the time for me. The two have done a great job with him. Believe it or not, a guy cannot gallop him. He doesn't get along with them. He's a ladies' man. Both of those ladies have done a fantastic job,” Potts said. “I actually spoke to Tais [the next day]. She said she was a little sore but everything's well. Nothing was broken, which was great news for herself and me. I use her a lot at Laurel.”

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Hall Of Famer D. Wayne Lukas Sidelined By COVID-19

Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, 84, is currently under home isolation after testing positive for COVID-19, his grandson, Brady Wayne Lukas, announced via Twitter on Wednesday.

“Wayne recently tested positive for COVID-19 and has since been isolating at home and following CDC and health care provider recommendations,” wrote Brady Lukas, son of the late Jeff Lukas. “Fortunately, he had not been at work for several days prior to the first symptom, so no one else at the barn is impacted.

“Wayne is on the road to recovery and looks forward to getting back to the track.”

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‘This Is What I Love Doing’: Breen Leads Monmouth Trainer’s Standings At Mid-Way Point

In some ways, Kelly Breen is as surprised as anyone that he will reach the midpoint of the Monmouth Park meet atop the trainer standings and as the favorite to win the title.

That's because he originally thought he was too heavy on 2-year-olds, too light on claimers, didn't have the overall numbers and wasn't sure how consistently he would be able to keep adding to his stable as the meet progressed.

“I thought I came in here a little short on the stock that a normal leading trainer would have,” said Breen. “Approximately one-third (19 of 62) of the horses I have here are 2-year-olds. With the pandemic you can't get to the 2-year-olds until later in the season. So they're pushed back. You're training horses more than you are racing horses.

“I knew to offset that we would have to be active in the claim box.”

The adjustment seems to have worked. Breen, who won the training title at Monmouth Park in 2005 and 2006, heads into the 18th racing day of the now 36-day meet on Friday with 12 winners from 45 starters to top the trainer standings.

He is three winners ahead of his closest competitor, Ben Perkins, Jr., but will only have one opportunity to add to his total during the six-race twilight card on Friday that starts at 5 p.m. Breen will send out Life On The Edge, already a winner at the meet, in the sixth race

“I'm still on the fence about my chances (to win the title),” he said. “So many different things go into winning a training title. A lot of variables.”

Breen said he “lost about six horses I liked for Monmouth Park at Gulfstream, and you can't replenish because Florida rules are you can't take them out of state for at least 90 days. I was coming back here before that so it just didn't work out. You come in feeling you're a little short.”

He also knows with the logjam behind him in the standings that a trainer is just one hot streak away from joining or passing him atop the standings. That happened with Perkins, who had four winners on Sunday's card and has won with seven of his last nine starters.

Jose Delgado, Mike Dini and Jerry Hollendorfer, each with eight winners, are in the title chase mix as well.

For the 51-year-old Breen, though, the training title would be especially significant since the New Jersey native has called Monmouth Park home since he started training in 1992.

“When you're this close of course you want to win it. There isn't anybody out there who would say no,” said Breen, who set a personal best with 66 winners overall a year ago. “This is a prestigious racetrack. To put another feather in my cap would be awesome. This is my home track so there are a lot of things going for me here, owners that have been with me a long time.

“I won the title here in 2005 and 2006 and then I was a private trainer and I did that for a while. So you lose contact with some owners and a lot of the big outfits I used to train for aren't racing as much. I'm on the market again and making more phone calls to get horses than I ever have in my life but this is what I love doing. It's just different. So winning the title again, if that happens, would mean a lot.”

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