Spendarella storms to front-running victory in Saturday’s Grade 3 Herecomesthebride in her second start. Gulfstream Park Photo.
By Tom Law
Spendarella showed up in one of Graham Motion’s springtime outposts last year and the recent Hall of Fame-nominated trainer and his team immediately liked what they saw.
“She always showed plenty of promise, we just had to give her more time,” Motion said. She came to me last spring at Keeneland actually, but she just needed more time over the summer.”
Spendarella needed the spring, summer, fall and some of the winter. She didn’t debut until early February, but made quick work of a field of an open-company maiden field going two turns on the grass at Gulfstream Park. The daughter of Karakontie did the same Saturday, closing Gulfstream’s rich Fountain of Youth Day card with a dominating front-running victory in the Grade 3 Herecomesthebride Stakes. Sent off as the 8-5 favorite off her flashy maiden score, Spendarella ran to her odds with a 1 1/2-length victory over third choice Opalina with second choice Mischievous Kiss third in the field of 11.
“She’s always been a nice filly, and she just keeps growing and getting more intelligent about the job,” said Alice Clapham, Motion’s Florida-based assistant. “She seems to know what life’s about. The first race really kind of helped her grow up.”
Bred Antony Beck’s Gainesway Thoroughbreds LTD, foaled at Sequel Stallions NY in Hudson and raced in Beck’s brown and white Gainesway Stable colors, Spendarella and jockey Jose Ortiz went to the front of the 1-mile Herecomesthebride on the firm ground.
Spendarella dictated the terms throughout, first maintaining a 1-length advantage over Dia de Sol through the opening three-quarters of a mile before shrugging off that foe around the far turn. Spendarella opened up approaching the stretch and was 3 lengths clear at the eighth pole as the closers started to wind up.
Mischievous Kiss, who rated well back in third most of the trip, went after the leader first before being overtaken by Opalina. The latter cut into the winner’s margin slightly in the stretch but was a clear second best, 1 ½ lengths clear of Mischievous Kiss in third with Last Leaf fourth. Spendarella won in 1:34.38.
“She broke well. Much better than the first time,” said Ortiz, who rode Spendarella in her 2 3/4-length win going 1 1/16 miles on the grass Feb. 2.
Offered late in the 2020 Keeneland September yearling sale as Hip 3161, Spendarella was reported sold for $220,000 to Ballyfair Bloodstock out of the Gainesway consignment. She’s out of the winning Unusual Heat mare Spanish Bunny, the dam of Grade 1 American Oaks and Grade 2 Honeymoon winner Spanish Queen.
“Mark Casse trained her full sister, so she had some credentials already, and it looked like she was a two-turn type,” Motion said.
Before the Herecomesthebride Motion said Spendarella could show up in her native state and Clapham echoed that sentiment after the filly’s victory worth $72,850.
“She’s a New York-bred, so she’ll most probably head up there, at some point,” Clapham said. “She’ll let us tell us where she wants to run.”
